A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps
by NeoShadows
Summary: Kamijou Touma's tale has ended. A New Magic God has risen in the future, taken over the world, and set its sights to the past for more power. Luckily, or unluckily for one unfortunate high school boy, those who have inherited Imagine Breaker's will have chased after it. When Future meets the Past, a new story is created. All to the misfortune of a certain Kamijou.
1. The Roar That Creates a Future

**Merry Christmas fans of a Certain Magical Index! Or Happy Holidays and all that jazz.**

 **Names NeoShadows. A writer of the RWBY sect and old author of a few works in Fairy Tail. And I became a big ass fan of the ToAru universe after binge watching the anime during a break my works. Seriously, where the fuck was I when this show came up? I missed out on such an awesome series and I'm still kicking myself for not getting into it. Of course once the anime ended and I was left to wait for part three to come out, I naturally turned into the Light Novels where the series was born. Which eventually lead me to finding some fanfiction.**

 **A year later and here I am. I introduce to you A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps. A story that's been in development for a good year before I decided to begin writing it out a few months ago. After reading a fair bit of good stories, I couldn't help myself from throwing my hat into the ring. And while I am still catching up on a lot of what the LN's have to offer, I felt confidant enough to start writing this up.**

 **I've already completed a few chapters before uploading, even had a friend of mine, ArmorCoreNineBall, take a look at the first chapter. Now all that's left is to see how the fans of the series react to it. I hope I make a fan out of a few of you.**

 **Trust me, this is going to be a hell of a ride. And if you're already a fan of my other works, I think you'll know what to expect. Now, let's get to scrolling!**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved by Kazuma Kamachi. I myself felt immense brotherhood with Touma. As a man who falls under bad luck regularly, I know how it feels to curse your misfortune.**_

 _ **What? Don't believe me? I'd like to see what you would call being run over by a truck, chased around by thugs for some comments about their mothers, overdosing on both coffee and energy drinks, forgetting to take your cell out from your trunks while going into the ocean, losing your wallet in said ocean the next year, and having to deal with a few girls you're sure are sadistic who've tied your arms, legs, and hands with duct tape along with your mouth, other than misfortune.**_

 _ **And no. All that I have said is not a joke and only a few of what I've been through. I really wish it was.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Roar That Creates A Future.**

 **An_Unpredictable_Storm.**

Imagine Breaker. A power so simple, yet so great, it could shatter the illusions of even gods with nothing but a simple touch. It was the power to negate all supernatural phenomenon from the world. In layman's terms, it destroyed the unnatural, what was not suppose to be, that which was born from outside means, and brought all things to their original state. It was not a power of good nor evil. It was simply a power born out of the fears, the hopes, and dreams of magicians. Hope to return to the original world distorted by their careless powers, the dream of a normal world not affected by outside forces, and the fear of their machinations being erased.

It was a strange power. An ability crystallized with a will of its own to search for an individual it would reside in for however long it pleased. What that individual did with the power to neutralize even the wishes of gods and devils, the power could care less. It had its own purpose to act only as a seal in reality. Yes, for that power that denies higher beings from distorting the world was simply but a side effect. The true power of Imagine Breaker laid in its container. And the unseen thing within. A thing with rows of innumerable rending fangs, seething glowing pupils belonging to draconic heads of varying designs, and a power that devoured everything whole.

What that Invisible Thing was, no one knew for sure. Its true power and meaning but a mystery that baffled even the gods themselves. But one thing was for sure.

When It roared, it signaled The End. The End of whatever stood in its way.

Imagine Breaker and It. Two powerful abilities and beings that could change the world to the user's wishes. Be their intentions good or evil, their hand is said to grant the wish of its wielder with but a touch.

For one Kamijou Touma, it was an unfortunate ability he never wished for. After all, it rejected even the blessing of god, negating the very prospect of luck. It brought the once normal high school boy nothing but misfortune. Bad luck seemed to always engulf him, resulting in the oddest adventures that he had to admit would make a great series of novels. Maybe if he ever had the chance, he would write down all his unfortunate adventures for all to read. It would be nice to have some form of steady income.

Sadly, this is not the tale of a certain unfortunate man turning his past ventures into a series of light novels. No, this was actually the end of a tale full of nothing but misfortune and suffering. For even being neglected the grace of death had not saved him from the events that lead to Kamijou Touma's last breath.

December 25th had marked the death of Kamijou Touma. On that very night, it was said that the sound of shattering glass could be heard resounding across the world one final time before a deathly silence curtained the earth.

Several days later, December 29th became the Eve of The End. Upon the death of the famed cursed man, a great and powerful man rose to power, attaining the title of Magic God, and plunged the world in the hellfires of the damned below. Their wish had been granted with the death of Kamijou Touma, their illusion becoming the worlds reality without the wielder of the Imagine Breaker to oppose them. What that wish, that intent, their purpose, was unknown as they bathed every inch in the visions of hell. All that the people of the world could understand was that they were driven to destroy the normal, blessed, and happy reality created by one unfortunate man.

In four days, that god had gained new titles.

The God of Ruin. He Who Denies Reality. The Wish Killer. Hellbringer.

In less than a week, the Magic God had brought the entire world to its knees despite the efforts from both the Magic and Science side. No one could so much as confront the god, only suffer and fall at their wake. Hope was lost. It had died with the death of one man.

With the world at their grasp, with no opposition before them, the Magic God had stopped. At The Eve of The End, the god had paused their ruin before finding a renewed purpose.

It is unknown how, but the god had found a way to travel through time. The god sought more. And it would gain more. The world's Phases were at the god's finger tips after all. It could whatever it so desired. And no one would stop it.

But the god had forgotten something important involving the man they had killed. Kamijou Touma had touched many lives in his wandering. Even before he left behind the city of science to travel the world in search of others in need of saving, he had already found himself in the hearts of many unique individuals from all sides. Magic, Science, Light, Dark, he had one way or another impacted their lives for the better and shattered the illusions haunting them. Those bonds he had formed in his unfortunate life had not been for nothing. Especially with the fairer sex.

It was funny when you thought about it. How something as stupid as the Kami-yan Disease would be the worlds salvation and not the end of the world.

Despite that, a certain blue haired man with piercings still cursed out a certain spiked haired deadman.

"Dammit, Kami-yan!"

* * *

Between Future Lines-1.

Mount Everest is regarded as the highest natural point on earth. 8,850 meters above sea level, no other mountain peak was closer to the sky and vast heavens beyond than its peak. Long ago one man made structure had gone beyond such a feat, passing the pillowy sea of earths heavens to dark space above at 35,000 kilometers above earth. But such a structure had fallen in an event that would have killed many below it if it wasn't for a miracle born from a certain Idol, and to an extent, a certain high school boy. Since its destruction, no other structure has ever come close to reaching past the earth's clouds. Leaving Mount Everest as the highest peak, and only peak, to touch the heavens.

It could be said that only Everest was allowed the blessing of being so close to god.

Perhaps that's why the Magical God had come to the peak of Everest for his spell. Even as pillars of molten earth pierced up to raise more flames to consume Nepal, the chilling mountain remained untouched by the destruction. As the highest point, it remained the only thing left alone to its natural state. Its chilling, cold snapping winds continued to rage in the deathly waves of heat born from the fires spread along the land.

Hana shivered at the face of the chilling winds flapping his tan winter furred coat. It was times like this he wished he had gained an Esper ability that could him warm his body up. But he just had to take after his mother instead. He couldn't help but sigh visibly in the chilling land.

"So, this thing is suppose to take us back in time, right? Hard to believe that something like this is possible. But then again, I still don't know much about magic." Hana grumbled distastefully. Magic was the reason the world was burning. Or at least it was the damned Magic God that was at fault for the horrible reality they lived in.

At the thought of the demon god who brought nothing but ruin, Hana's blue eyes glared at the frozen still form of the almighty supernatural deity. The haze of snowflakes, cold winds, numerous magical circles overlapping the god's body that extended to the sky above, made it hard to make out the bastard's appearance. Not like he wanted to see the monster.

Hana was sure he would lost it completely if he had to see the god again.

"Don't these kind of things only happen in manga and movies?"

A few feet away from the still magical god, Hana could see the equally snow cloaked figure standing before a swirling gate of numerous colored hues shake their head tiredly. At the peak of the tallest point of the world, countless magical arrays spun around the summit, their inner circles constantly spinning like complex tumblers that speared the chained god with slivers of holy light. The figure facing the forbidden magic arrays was slim with their cloak hugging their petite frame tightly as locks of ebony hair flew along with the cold winds.

"After everything we've been through, you still don't believe in magic? A literal Magic God is frozen right in front of your very eyes. What more proof do you need, Sparky!" the usually soft spoken girl's voice said in irritation.

Hana felt a twitch in his brow. But unlike his mother, he wasn't easy to set off. He'd like to think he took after his father.

"I would honestly like to believe there was no such thing as magic after all that I've seen. Maybe then none of this would be happening." Hana said bitterly with a scowl.

The girl's figure seemed to grow somber, their shoulders falling. At the sight, Hana sighed tiredly as he made his way over.

He was an Esper raised in Academy City, the greatest and most advanced city in all the world. He was taught to believe in science, in logic and facts. The very idea of magic was nothing but some make believe seen in the mangas and anime he watched when he was bored. It was crazy to believe that without the use of certain drugs and tests of the mind that one could do something as create fire in the palms of their hand. His powers were proof magic didn't exist.

Funny enough, his mother always told him to keep an open mind. She said there was more to the world than what he knew inside the city of science. Even though they lived by the laws of science, his mother was actually a believer in god and had friends who followed Christianity and Catholicism. He never understood why she had such faith in a godless city.

But after the events of December 25th, where the world had been doomed by a man who regarded himself as some Magic God, Hana could no longer deny that magic was a thing. Especially after meeting the girl with him. Hell, he was seeing magic right now.

Standing beside her, Hana bumped his fist above the girl's hoodie covered head. A small yelp of surprise and pain could be heard before he found green eyes glaring back at him.

"But if magic can help us save our world from that bastard's hands, than I guess I have to believe, Angela."

Angela's shimmering green eyes stared up at the brown haired boy with neck long locks. Small tears gathered in her eyes, putting the boy on edge as her lip quivered.

Like his father, he had no idea what to do when facing a crying girl.

Time was of the essence though. Sniffling, Angela dried her tears before they could turn to ice. She still had an important task to attend to. Now was not the time for tears.

Facing the swirling gate created by a god who brought hell onto earth in only four days, the two teens set their faces into ones of determination. Several crunches could be heard behind them, nearing closer at a brisk pace. The sounds of several new presences coming towards them didn't worry them. In fact, smiles now adorned their fierce expressions as new voices could be heard calling out to them.

"Whoa! Is that shitty Magic God frozen?! Well fuck me, you two little shits actually did it! And here I thought you didn't have the balls to face a walking talking atomic bomb. Think I can riddle him full of holes real quick?"

"Please refrain yourself from attacking the monster, Kaen. Such an act could free it and ruin our plans. Even if I myself would love nothing more than to slice it to pieces with mother's blade."

"Can we get this over with already? I still have some Xtra Large Soft drink coupons that give out a side of medium fries that expire today that I want to use up before it's too late."

". . .I don't think those will be of any use here. Or where we're going. You can have a sip of my sports drink if ya like. It's got double the electrolytes and vitamins for the long road ahead."

"So, this is the portal that will sends us back in time? Good grief. I never thought my Christmas holiday would involve time travel of all things. I miss my normal middle school life!"

Several other voices spoke out their opinion to the events leading them to standing around a time portal and the frozen form of the god that had ruined their futures. And while many voices wished to destroy the god now that they had the chance, they were stopped by the warning of Angela. Unlike the man who could shatter the illusions of a god, none of them possessed the power to stop the Magic God. But they were not as powerless as they had believed.

Turning away from the portal, Angela faced the gathered force standing with her and Hana at the eve of the worlds final days. All of those gathered at the mountain top were about her age, meaning they were still middle schoolers. A few were older, being 1st and 2nd years in high school. They were all different, not one of them alike in any way. Quite honestly she would have never believed she would ever acquaint herself with any of them, especially the more brutish and violent of the bunch. But like her, they all shared something in common.

On each of their faces they held a fierce expression of determination. Each in their hearts held a small piece of the will of the man who could purify gods and slay demons. The small faction before her were the fruits of labor that had been born from the bonds of Kamijou Touma.

The Kamijou Faction was alive and well in the new generation, filling in the roles of those before them.

With her smile growing, Angela simply nodded up to the brown haired Esper boy next to her. She had nothing more to say, but she was sure he did.

Hana nodded back, albeit grudgingly. He didn't want this role. He didn't want to go this path. He didn't want this responsibility. But he also didn't want this present. And he could see no future in this world anymore. Tightly gripping his right fist, Hana addressed the faction they had gathered in the last four days.

"I'm not going to lie and pretend that we'll save the world. I'm just a normal Esper who had only been worried about school and his overbearing mother weeks ago. Hell, I was planning on lazing around the house for the next week during the holiday, hoping to get some kind of message before the new year from my bum of a dad." Hana smirked fondly, earning several chuckles and nods of understanding from the others, "I know you all must feel the same. But then all those plans had been screwed up by this son of a bitch over here!" he shouted angrily with a thumb aimed back at the still Magic God.

"That fucking pigshit mother fucking cunt!"

"Boo!"

"HE RUINED CHRISTMAS!"

"He made my mother cry! And my sister! Fuck this asshole!"

"You still think these coupons will work in the past though?"

Hana faltered slightly at the outbursts, nearly falling over at the idiotic responses and threats at the Magic God. He should have expected much. Clearing his throat to gain their attention again, he stopped the shouting as they returned their gazes at the brunette boy. A bitter smile came to his face.

"We all lost so much in these last four days because of that crappy god. Friends, family. . .parents."

A few soft cries broke out from the group. Hana's eyes reflected back at them with equal pain. They had all experienced loss.

"Everything is falling apart. All because a certain someone is no longer here to save the day. The hero is gone, leaving no one to stop anyone from distorting the reality we all love and cherish. And that's something I can't stand!"

A thunderous crack of energy erupted from Hana's body, vaporizing the countless snowflakes blocking out his surroundings with the flicker of lightning. His body smoked, melting the snow beneath his feet as he breathed heavily. The sudden action took some of them by surprise.

Hana's eyes were narrowed, showing anger and grief. He had suffered just as much as everyone here. And like them, he had enough.

"I don't believe in magic even though its right in front of my eyes! It's something I still can't wrap my head around, and I've traveled the world with a busty silver haired nun with a perfect memory for four days while fighting demons and magicians! As an Esper, I believe in fact. Cold, hard facts! BUT!" Hana shouted fiercely as he swung his right fist over to the portal behind him, "If something like belief and faith can create something to stop the end of the world and return it to the reality we all wish for, than I'll become a believer! I throw away my own beliefs for another if it means I can have my family back!"

Those who were in the same boat as him nodded stiffly. To them, this was also new and terrifying. But at this point, they were willing to believe in anything.

"I'm no hero, I don't want to be a hero, but I'll stand up to the plate to shatter the fucked up illusion of a Magic God!"

Grins, smirks, looks of respect, and stubborn smiles responded to his words, growing even stronger with his next words.

"But the empty space of that hero is big, impossibly big! So, think you can all stand with me to fill that spot?"

"Fuck yeah!"

"It is the duty of a Saint in training to slay devils, so I will lend my blade!"

"I don't want to! But I guess I got no choice but to help out!"

"With a little magic, anything's possible!"

"If this means I get to met my personal hero, than count me in!"

"What's a stupid god to a nonbeliever anyway?"

That's all Hana and Angela needed to hear. Nothing but resounding spirits ready to change history for the better. With everyone in their small faction ready, Hana and Angela faced back to the portal. Together they would stop a Magic God that could slay other gods with ease, who destroyed their present, ruined their future, and aimed to corrupt their past.

The BREAKERS would shatter the illusions of an all powerful god. With the will of Kamijou Touma in their tight fists.

The first to step into the gate were Angela and Hana, followed by two more of the BREAKERS. Sadly they all could not rush in, the maximum per entry was four. Not to mention they needed a few to watch over the frozen Magic God. The power keeping him from moving would not last forever, so they needed to watch out for when he freed himself.

Moving forward, Hana could only hope that they could change the future they would leave behind. How exactly? Hana smirked weakly.

He had absolutely no idea.

* * *

August 9th. Just another night in the marveling city of Academy City, the leader in all things scientific and technological in the world. It was a brisk night like any other. The sounds of the city were like a comforting hum to the city people as many turned in for the night to awake to another day in their lives of improving themselves. Another day to advance themselves further and reach new levels to prove their worth. For that was the sole reason any of them resided in Academy City. To become Espers, to gain power that normal humans were incapable of. To become special.

But in this city of science, where god was abandoned, another force had made its way into the world of Espers. A little nun who followed god's book and his teachings now walked Academy City's streets with a joyful hum on her lips and a bottomless pit where her stomach should be. One could say that with the addition of the new element, a reaction had been set to change the normal days of the city to come. The silver haired nun was a pebble. And Academy City was the sheltered pond.

Currently one of the many ripples of her presence could be felt throughout the building of Misawa's Cram School. The building that housed over 2,000 students stood tall with four office like buildings, serving as a fortress for a powerful alchemist for his own personal goals. And yet despite having been struck by Gregorio's Chant, a bombardment spell that should have razed the building to rubble in thanks to the 3,333 monks chanting, it stood up in defiance of the Roman Catholic Church's most notorious spells. All in thanks to the power of Ars Magna, the power to turn words into reality.

But that power to turn the users words into reality found itself being broken by the right hand of one average high school boy.

The sound of glass shattering with an otherworldly whine could be heard bouncing off the walls of Aureolus Izzard's personal study. The tall man, dressed in a fine white suit, with neatly combed green hair and green eyes, stood in shock at the nullification of his Ars Magna. He glared at the spiky haired boy with dark blue eyes, who glared right back at him with seething anger. In the high school boy's arms, the boy held a black haired girl wearing a shrine maiden's outfit. Strange as the outfit was, that was not what surprised Aureolus or had his attention. No, that would be the rise and fall of the girl's chest.

Himegami Aisa was breathing softly. She was alive. That shouldn't be. Not when he commanded the opposite. What he was seeing must have been some mistake. Yes, Aureolus nodded firmly while ignoring the single trickle of sweat running down his forehead. The only explanation must have been that his focus had slipped for a second. Well he could remedy that.

The glare on Touma's face twisted angrily as he watched Aureolus flick the back of his shirt's waist for a thin golden needle. With a sickening squish, the needle stabbed into the Alchemist's neck, showing no signs of harming the green haired man as he calmly spoke a single word.

"Die."

Touma felt it, the pause in Himegami's breathing at the sound of the Alchemist's command. He could feel the second her lungs stopped, the second her body grew cold, and the second her heart stopped. He bit his lips with a throaty growl as his right hand clenched the dead miko's shoulder tightly.

Once again, Aureolus could hear it. The sound of glass shattering despite none of his windows being been broken. There should have been nothing in the room other than the glass windows that could have made such a sound if broken. Even more alerting was the rise and fall of Himegami's chest. The girl was alive despite his command! How!?

It was then Aureolus found his eyes falling on the right hand on the girl's shoulder. The same hand the boy had bitten to somehow free himself from the Alchemist's command to slam to the ground. The right hand, was it responsible?

"That hand, what did you do!? What kind of technique can dispel my Ars Magna like it was nothing!?" Aureolus demanded with a slight panic in his voice. He silently cursed himself. What he'd seen had caused his concentration to slip again. His hand reached back for another needle to settle his nerves as he met the normal boy's furious gaze.

"Twice."

Aureolus paused, quirking a brow in interest as Kamijou stared down at the peacefully sleeping girl in his arms. His grip on Himegami's body tightened to the point he guiltily nearly drew blood as a look of discomfort grew on her face. He lightened the grip with a snarl now on his face.

"That was twice now that you killed her without so much as a damn thought! Just what the hell did she mean to you!? Wasn't she your friend?! She said that you saved her from the people using her to copy her powers, that you promised to save her from the pain that her blood causes her, that you of all people would never harm a person!"

Through out the entire day, Touma had seen nothing but death and suffering from the moment he walked into what he believed to be a cram school. The death of a knight he couldn't save, the death of all those students by a dummy of the alchemist, and the death of an innocent girl he had tried to ignore. He had failed to save them. And it was only because of the power in his right hand that he could even happily admit to saving Himegami. But the fact remained. Himegami Aisa had died in his arms again. Though she was breathing again, she had died in an instant.

And it was all because of the man standing in front of him. A man Stiyl had said was once Index's most treasured friend years ago. A man so twisted, he used others for his own means. All so Aureolus could save Index from losing her memories again. What he had done for such a wish only made Touma angrier.

Gently setting Himegami down to the side, Touma stood up to face the spiteful Alchemist. His face grew shadowed from the locks of hair over his forehead as he spat at the man Himegami regarded so highly.

"How the hell can you stand there so calmly when you just killed someone who thought the world of you!"

Aureolus continued to stare at the furious boy with interest before sighing. To Touma's further anger, he chuckled.

"What are you talking about? I simply did as promised." Aureolus smirked as he toyed with the needle in his hand. "Not only is she no longer useful, but I also freed her from the misfortune she was born with. Just as promised before you cursed her to continue living with her horrible reality." he scowled in pity towards the sleeping girl with Deep Blood.

What little self control Touma had struggled to keep was broken by the Alchemist's next words.

"And you look at me as the monster."

A thunderous snap of lightning could be heard from outside, drawing Aureolus's attention to the windows. He gazed out into the city, his brows furrowing at the odd sight. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, flashing with lightning before he saw thunder strike down to the earth. He could actually feel a tremor crawling up the building.

How odd. He couldn't recall seeing anything about a thunderstorm occurring tonight. Than again, the weather forecast as of late hadn't been as accurate as before.

Another crash of thunder from outside shook the building visibly, causing him to stumble slightly. It was worrying to feel such a tremor hit so close. As if he didn't have enough things distracting him today.

"AUREOLUS!"

With a sound of surprise, the green haired Alchemist glanced back at the charging high school boy. He narrowed his eyes before stabbing the needle on hand into his neck.

"Your Heart Will Stop."

Touma grit his teeth as he felt some unknown force grip his heart. He didn't even think twice as his right fist punched his chest. Thankfully it appeared he didn't need direct contact with his heart in order to stop Aureolus's command. The stopping of his heart was negated immediately. But he didn't stop his charge. Or the swing of his right fist.

"You Shall Not Touch Me." The distance between Kamijou and Aureolus grew suddenly just as Touma's fist came close. Touma simply swung at air. Taking the missed blow as an opportunity, Aureolus spoke another command before the boy could make a move. "Suffocate."

The muscles of Imagine Breaker's neck grew taught, cutting off his ability to breath. Choking to his death, Touma quickly clenched his neck with his right hand to nullify the command. Once again he had made Aureolus Ars Magna useless with a simple touch. Aureolus was growing more and more frustrated with each failed attempt. At the sound and tremble of the thunder outside, he spoke his next command to finish the boy.

"Be Struck By Lightning!"

Touma's eyes went wide in panic. Feeling the building tremble again, he found the ceiling above him broken through as a bolt of lightning crashed down to him like he was a metal rod. He reacted faster than the lightning, swinging his right clawed hand above his head just as the lightning struck to catch it. The bolt was nullified.

"In My Hand I Hold A Pistol. Its Ammo Is Infinite. Each Bullet Fired Will Hit Its Mark!"

But in canceling out the lightning bolt, Touma had failed to react to the Alchemist's next commands. Cutting straight through the air, a round old timed bullet drilled through his shoulder with a bang. A gush of blood flew out from the new hole on his body that made him grit his teeth openly in pain. He stumbled back with a struggling gasp. That was certainly a first. Maybe.

Touma desperately hoped that this was the first time he had been shot. Sadly he wouldn't know that since he had lost his memory weeks ago.

Aureolus ceased his commands as he mused out loud with his pistol still smoking.

"So, it appears that your right hand does indeed nullify my Ars Magna. How interesting. I don't believe I recall such a power before until now. It truly is a formidable ability." Aureolus commended before sneering, "But I believe the trick to overcoming its nullification is to strike anything but your right hand. And hit you before you can react!"

Not needing to reload with the infinity ammo his pistol attained, Aureolus fired another shot. His aim was set on the boy's head, going straight for a kill shot. He watched as Touma reacted in time to block the shot, canceling even the bullet out. But he saw that coming. His eyes had already moved onto the side of the high schooler's hip and fired. The metal ball hit its mark, but to his displeasure, he was slightly off and missed the annoying boy's kidney.

His commands were losing their power. Reaching for another needle, he plunged it into his neck and relieved at his thoughts calming back. His laser focused concentration returned.

"Be Crushed By Ten Tons." he said almost lazily, forgoing his accurate pistol for a more gruesome death.

Above the unfortunate boy, a pure iron anvil in the shape of a car sized anvil fell down out from thin air. Touma may have been in immense pain, and slowly bleeding out, but he fought past the pain and threw his hand up to cancel out the heavy weight. Struggling to stay on his feet, he returned to attacking. He ran to Aureolus with a straight punch for the green Alchemist's gut. Aureolus commanded that he would not be hit again, repeating the command every time the boy charged at him. Wincing at the strain on his wounds, the wielder of Imagine Breaker moved to charge back with a roar. His eyes glanced down, finding one of the needles the Alchemist used that he swiftly kicked up. Going in for another straight punch, he watched Aureolus avoid him with another command and took him by surprise by flinging the needle. The surprise needle broke Aureolus concentration for a second, forcing him to actually dodge on his own. His concentration was only worsened by another tremble that hit his building from the strong thunder storm outside.

A chance had been opened. Touma forced his wounded body to move. He ran as quick as he could, closing in on the sweating green haired man with an uppercut. Aureolus's breath hitched. The needle he was ready to use to return his concentration was instead used to slash at Touma's face. Touma ducked just before the needle could slice his eyes, suffering a slash on his forehead. He flinched as blood ran down his face, losing his footing slightly yet still connecting with his sloppy uppercut.

Aureolus's eyes went wide as his jaw cracked. Pain erupted around his chin and he could have sworn his jaw was dislocated. The force had sent him stumbling back and grabbing his chin. He glared at the boy, watching him raise his fist up an in attempt to knock him out with the next punch.

A golden needle slipped into Touma's lower abdomen, causing him to gasp sharply. He was forced to jump back and abandon his attack in order to avoid the needle piercing a vital organ. With another hole in his body, he gasped in both pain and exhaustion from the battle. He could see Aureolus stand back up, already moving to stab the needle dripping with his own blood into his neck.

 _'I-I can't keep this going on too long. I may be able to block his more direct commands, but all it would take are a few more of his complicated commands to take me out. I'm already losing enough blood as it is.'_ Touma flinched as he noticed his white shirt drenching with blood. He could even see a few drops plip onto the floor.

He already had to fight the Aureolus dummy and was lucky to have made it out of the fight alive. Or unlucky seeing as surviving the fight ended with the situation right now. Exhausted, sweating, shirt slick with blood, with a slash on his forehead and three holes on his body. He was really starting to curse the bad luck he found himself cursed with since waking up with no memories that day. He couldn't go on much longer.

". . .Touma."

In the midst of the fighting, a sleeping silver haired nun mumbled in her sleep. She was undisturbed from all the impossible feats Touma was seeing or the loud thunder that was shaking all of Academy City. She was left alone to her dreams. Her soft murmurs and occasional smiles telling all those in the room that she was dreaming a pleasant dream. One that most likely involved mountains of food all cuisine.

And of the spiky haired high schooler that had saved her.

Touma sighed tiredly as he forced himself to stay on his feet. Just how could the little sister sleep here of all places? Couldn't she tell that he was fighting for his life right now? Or that a creepy guy with green dyed hair was standing over her? He had half a mind to give her a lecture when she woke. He was pretty sure he had asked her to stay back at the dorm. Did she follow him like some lost puppy?

The picture of a puppy Index came to mind, bringing a chuckle to Touma's lips. It hurt to laugh, but he couldn't help himself. With the way Index bit him, she was like a puppy.

 _'I can't let myself stop now. Her smile. . .isn't the not the only one I have to save.'_ Glancing back at Himegami's resting form on the ground, he was happy to note that none of Aureolus's attacks had harmed her. He wasn't surprised she was still sleeping. She had gone through so much.

Thanks to the right arm that brought him nothing but trouble on a daily basis since he woke up in the hospital without any memories of his previous life, Himegami was alive. And he would make sure she continued living. Whatever it took, he would make sure she escaped this prison to live her life.

A stray thought passed through Touma. He glanced away from the miko to another person on the ground, finding a red haired man with a barcode tattoo on his cheek still stuck to the ground. Touma couldn't help but smirk.

"So, what's your excuse?"

Stiyl Magnus glared up at the spiky haired brat. If it wasn't for Aureolus's command, he would whip a blade of flames at Kamijou just to annoy him.

"Keep your eyes on the spiteful Alchemist, kid! I really don't think now is the time for jokes." Stiyl groaned. The force keeping him glued to the floor was really a pain in the ass. He couldn't help but roll his shoulders.

 _'Wait.'_ Stiyl paused in realization. He wasn't able to move a muscle before.

 ** _'Touma.'_**

The grip on the needle in Aureolus's hand nearly snapped it in half. The girl with a perfect memory doomed to forget about the bonds she made with those in a year had been saved. After all those years of precious memories she could never retain, she could finally continue with the memories she currently kept with her mind. For once, she wouldn't forget about those friends she made, who found themselves blessed by the girl's radiant smile.

Index could live her life now with the memories of the friends she made this year. Without the memory of Aureolus Izzard in her perfect memory. She would never dream of playing with Aureolus, or spending a nice sunny afternoon outside with tea and cookies while reading books with him. Her dreams were replaced by Kamijou Touma.

"You. . .you haven't suffered enough. Not nearly enough." Aureolus spat through gnashed teeth. The needle was stabbed deeper into his neck than necessary.

Anger clouded his judgment, but his focused was still as sharp as his needles. Only further fueling his commands creative forms.

"Countless Guillotine Blades Will Drop From The Air In The Following Orders!"

The ceiling quickly filled with countless death blades above Touma's head, glinting cruelly as the high school boy stiffened. Touma glared tiredly at the green haired Alchemist, preparing his damaged sore body to move.

"A Blade Will Drop Above His Head."

Instincts forced Touma back, just in time to avoid the instantaneous executioner's blade dropping down to split him apart. The office floor was shattered, showing off the heavy blade's impact as it continued to fall straight to the lower floors. Touma sweated.

"A Blade Will Drop From Above His Head. And Behind!"

Predicting Touma's next move with a smug smirk, Aureolus watched the boy's face flinch as he suddenly changed his backwards hop into a sideways skip. The two guillotine blades were like the lightning outside, flashing down to nearly chop the foolish boy apart. With his eyes trailing Toumca's every move, Aureolus commanded every deadly blade to drop down in tandem with the boy's odd reflexes. He commanded a blade to follow Touma's every step, forcing the boy to change a back step to a sideways roll to avoid a blade from falling behind, than to throw his right hand up to negate another blade waiting to dig into his skull, and force the panting boy to spin his body to the left as Aureolus commanded one of the dropping guillotine blades to curve with the intent to split its target's abdomen apart from his waist. The assault just kept coming.

"Eight Blades Will Drop From A Ninety Degree Angle To Dice My Enemy!"

Sweating nervously, Touma thought quickly. A circle of death blades angled towards him with frightening speed, intent on chopping him to bits. Cracking his right hand, he spun on his foot to swing his arm out like whip, negating the circle of guillotine blades just before they could do him any harm.

"A Blade Will Fall Forward And Spin Like A Saw With The Intent to Slice My Enemy In Half!"

With the sound of shattering glass came another command from the Alchemist. Dropping down in front of Touma's very face, a guillotine blade spun wildly like a revving saw disc. Still in revolution, it spun straight forward with the intent on sawing Imagine Breaker in half. Touma gulped, taking in the blades size that nearly towered himself. He move without a second thought, slapping away the death saw with Imagine Breaker.

"Two Blades Will Fall On Both Sides And Curve To Chop My Enemy's Waist Off! In The Same Movement, A Blade Will Drop Above His Head!"

And again, another damn command. Touma made sure to pay close attention to Aureolus words, planning his next action to counter whatever would come next. He jumped back quickly at the end of the sentence, watching as the three razor edged blades slammed into another. Not wanting to risk any change of another attack, Touma shattered the guillotine blades with a straight punch of his right arm. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"A Rain Of Blades Will Fall Wildly With the Speed of Sound At My Enemy!"

"GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!" The next command was enough to visibly horrify Touma. His face twisted in agony as he stared up at the suddenly glinting ceiling of executioner blades. He gulped dryly. His instincts rang wild. Above his head, numerous guillotine blades fell down with sonic booms, snapping the very air as they fell randomly at only their target. Falling back on his hard wired instincts, Touma dodged, rolled, and shattered whatever blades came close to him. Sounds of the floor cracking echoed along with the thunder cracks outside as sweat flew off his bloody face. It looked like he was stuck in a death defying dance of raining silver flashes and the beat of thudding steel booms. How he could evade sonic speed blades, he didn't know. But he'd be damned if he stopped to question.

This was just a game to Aureolus though. He was confidant he could kill Touma at any moment if he wanted to. But no, that wouldn't do. This was after all the boy who had robbed him of saving his precious Index. This was the boy who had robbed him of the title of savior. The insignificant, dull faced, ignorant boy had stolen his rightful place beside the girl with the brilliant, innocent smile. No, Aureolus would make the boy sweat, exhaust him, grant him some hope that he could defeat him despite how worn out his body became. Than, and only than, when the boy believed that he could defeat him, would Aureolus deliver the finishing blow. The Alchemist would make the blow fatal, but not enough to kill Touma on the spot.

No, Aureolus will make Touma live long enough to feel his hopes die away. Long enough that the boy would gain just a slimmer of understanding to the grief and despair that Aureolus felt.

"From Both Right And Left, Two Car Sized Balls Of Fire Will Slam Into The Boy!"

Gasping heavily, Touma rolled forward to avoid the two giant fireballs crashing into another from both his sides. He spun back to face the collision, is right arm thrown up in time to negate the flood of flames erupting from the explosion, leaving him to watch the flames pass him by in the makeshift field of negation he created with his fingers spread apart. While safe from being burned to a crisp, his right arm sadly couldn't protect him from the immense heat of the flames singing his skin.

"In My Hand, I Hold A Pistol! They Will Fire With Sonic Speed! Commence Rapid Fire!"

No time to breath was given to the unfortunate high school boy as the flames died down. Spinning around, he quickly threw Imagine Breaker out to negate the magical bullets. Blood erupted from his chest, four additional bullet wounds blossoming onto his abdomen to signal he was too late to cancel out the attacks the shot through him with sonic booms. His face twitched as his breath grew erratic, blood dripping onto the floor to form a puddle as his right arm began to fall along with his body.

 _'NO!'_ Swallowing the vile copper in his throat, Touma grit his teeth and blocked the sonic firing bullets cutting through the air with a boom. His palm negated one aimed for his lungs, but suffered three of the iron balls piercing his body and shatter the wall behind him like cannonballs. Again his body faltered, nearly collapsing on the spot until he forced his wobbling legs to stand straight.

How many did that make? How many holes did he have in his body? Just how much blood was he losing? And how long until he bled out?

Surprisingly, both Touma and Aureolus had the same answer in mind as they glared at another with equal hate in their stubborn eyes.

 _'It doesn't matter.'_

Because it truly didn't. Even though his body was refusing to listen to him and give into his wounds, Touma ignored the dizziness clouding his thoughts to run straight for the cold smirking Alchemist. The sonic bullets came as predicted, whistling a deadly tune to the death of an unfortunate boy. But even with their speed, Touma followed his instincts, instincts he never realized he had, honed from countless fights with opponents literally above his level that he had forgotten, and evaded the shots at the very last second. He couldn't help but smirk in victory, his smirk only growing wider at what he saw on the green haired Alchemist's face.

A bead, a single bead of sweat rolled down Aureolus's temple. It appeared right when Touma had kept his body standing despite the bullets stabbing right through him like paper. The perfect shots had lost their speed a moment later.

Through out the fight, Touma wasn't simply dodging Aureolus's attacks. The entire time, he had been observing the Alchemist, looking out for any weaknesses to the bastard's spell he could exploit. But nothing came up. With every word that left Aureolus's mouth, he could materialize the objects and conditions without any cost to himself or surroundings. Whatever the man said could come true. Hell, the Alchemist had just summoned death blades to rain down like it was nothing!

But something had stood out. Every once in a while, Aureolus would stab his neck with one of those deadly needles. Touma could see a slight rise of frustration on Aureolus's face, only for his face to relax as the needle entered his skin. Every time the Alchemist would become frustrated, he would stab his neck to calm down, easing his troubled expression and than go back to attacking. Rinse and repeat.

The loss of sonic speed to the bullets and bead of sweat on Aureolus's forehead was the chink in the Alchemist's Ars Magna. A dent that he needed to hammer ruthlessly. All he needed was to find one more piece to the puzzle before he could break apart the Alchemist's powers.

Touma tightened his bruised right fist with a pop and a stubborn grin. The odds were completely against him. But what else was new? If he didn't give up when he woke up without his memories of who he was, why would he give up now to a man who could bend reality to his every word?

Aureolus smirked cruelly. The look on the boy's face was exactly what he was waiting for! He could see hope brimming in those deep dark blue eyes. All that was left was to rob him of that hope and-!

"Hmph, that power really is the real thing, isn't it? Anything you say comes true, reality itself bending to your words without a cost, huh?"

Aureolus paused, the words on his lips falling as he glanced at the still face down red haired magician who had once been by Index side, just like him. He grew curious at the man's random question.

"Of course. Ars Magna is the greatest achievement to all Alchemists, a power as great as the Philosopher's Stone! It is the very jewel of our kind!" Aureolus proclaimed proudly.

No alchemist in history had ever achieved such a feat, never less in such a short amount of time. Only Aureolus was great enough to attain such a godly power that forced reality to bow to his every command. With Ars Magna, nothing was impossible!

"With it, nothing in this world, this reality, is impos-"

"Than why do you need Deep Blood? Why go through all this trouble to draw out a measly vampire when you can just command one to appear right in front of you?"

The pride on Aureolus's face withered away. It was as if he was struck by something foul, his expression twisting into an ugly scowl of frustration. The expression caught Touma's attention as he paid close attention to what Stiyl could be implying.

"Shut your mouth, lousy magici-!"

"After all, reality itself is yours to command, right? Ars Magna allows you to do anything with nothing but a word. If you said, I Command A Vampire Before My Eyes, it will happen like that. Right?" Stiyl commented lazily. The growing grin on his face becoming more broad as Aureolus's face began to sweat more and more with his growing temper. A thoughtful expression crossed Stiyl's face.

"In fact, if you could create vampires so easily, why go through all that trouble in the first place? If you can freely control reality, make whatever you say true, than why didn't just say that you could save-"

"INTO THE AIR, RED HAIRED MAGICIAN!"

Stiyl's words were abruptly cut off as his body was flung into the air. He found himself suspended above the room, still without any control of his limbs. The pure anger and frustration on the green haired Alchemist's face was all Stiyl needed to know to the validity of his musings. He couldn't help but smirk in victory.

"That's is, isn't it? It's not that you couldn't, but that you didn't-"

"SHED'S THE MAGICIAN'S SKIN FROM HIS MUSCLES!"

 _ **RIPPPPPP!**_

Touma gagged, nearly losing his stomach's contents as an invisible force seemed to audibly peel away every inch of Stiyl's skin from his body. The sound of tearing flesh was horrifying enough, but the very sight of all of the London mage's muscles, organs, fat, and nerves, still working forced him to clap his hand over his mouth to avoid both vomit and blood from spilling out. His eyes were tearing up, his will just about falling apart at the disgusting picture floating above him. Small droplets of blood drizzled onto the floor.

It was no surprise that Stiyl couldn't utter a sound in such a state.

 _'Wait, what was Stiyl about to say?'_ Swallowing the bile, Touma narrowed his eyes in thought. He glanced back at Aureolus. Watching the green haired suit calm his nerves with another needle to his neck. While his body ached, and he was positive he couldn't even walk straight with how much blood he lost, Touma stood up straight as he thought back to what Stiyl had been implying.

 _'He's right. If Aureolus can make whatever he speaks reality, why would he go through all this, when he could just say what he wished? Why didn't he just wish that Index could be saved?'_

Touma's eyes gazed past Aureolus to Index's happily sleeping visage. The silver haired nun continued to sleep without a care in the world.

 _'How could he not think of that? He can make whatever he says reality, so why not save Index? Didn't he believe he could save her with such power?'_

Believe.

Realization hit Touma in an instant. The pieces he had gathered came together in that moment, allowing him to see through the dent in Ars Magna. The little dent was blown apart, revealing a giant hole in the all powerful magic that warped reality to the wielders words.

Aureolus scoffed at the floating exposed nervous system before returning his attention to the high school boy. Annoyance grew on his face, finding the boy still standing unwavering despite the several bullet wounds on his person. By now, the boy should have collapsed from blood loss. Still though, Touma continued to stand defiantly. The hope he wished to crush was no longer what he wished to see.

"Honestly, that lousy magician has spoiled the fun. I grow bored of this game." Aureolus said nonchalantly as he raised his antique pistol, "I am done with you. So, I believe the best course of action to put an end to all this is to simply rid you of the power to negate my Ars Magna. That odd power seems to only appear in your right arm, which means you are completely useless if it where to disappear." he grinned viciously.

 _'That's what Ars Magna is. It's not the power to create whatever the user wishes through words, but the power to create whatever the user believes! And even though you had done what others couldn't, you still didn't believe that it was enough to save her.'_

"My Pistol Will Gain A Sword!"

 _'You. . .didn't believe that could save her, could you? Even with all that power, you didn't believe that you could save her with just words that bent reality to your whim. What you lacked wasn't power. It was belief. That's you weakness.'_

"This Blade Will Chop Off Your Arm! Commence Sword-Blade Spinning Shot!"

The elegant sword blade attached to the antique pistol spun out from the barrel, cutting through the air like a flashing saw. It's aim was true and straight, set on only one target in its sight.

No one but Aureolus heard the gruesome sound of bone, muscles, and flesh being torn through with a crunch by the flashing steel saw. The blade embedded itself to the wall behind the shell shocked Touma with a heavy thud. Another thud hit the ground, the sound haunting the high schooler before the sound of gushing, squirting blood followed next. He didn't even dare to turn his eyes to the sliced right arm that wasn't even a bloody stump.

A dead, hollowed expression replaced the light in Touma's eyes. Aureolus couldn't help but grin darkly in satisfaction.

A heavy, powerful, roar of thunder hit the Academy City that was accompanied by Aureolus's bellowing laughter. He laughter rolled off the walls. Several flashes of lighting could be seen outside the window that visibly trembled the building, shaking the objects in his office.

Aureolus's good intentions to save a dear friend he loved deeply had transformed him into a ruthless killer. The man who had basked in the same light as his friend had been lost the day Index's memories had been wiped. Now stood a man who acted on his selfish desires. He had become a monster.

An ominous flash blinded the entire city. And in the office building of Misawa's Cram School, another. . .thing laughed.

". . .Heh. Hehehe. HEHEHEHEHEHEAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Aureolus's victory was short lived with the crazed laughter dwarfing his own. His voice found itself stuck in his throat as he watched the boy without a right arm, bleeding out and splattered with blood on his right side of his body, throw his head back with a mad laugh. This was the last thing he would have expected from the boy. Anyone who had lost their arm so suddenly, and so violently, should have been on their knees with cries of anguish. They should have vainly been grasping at their gushing stump arm, trying to convince themselves this wasn't happening. Anyone in such a situation would have been a broken mess of tears, blood, and despair.

But the high school, who lacked anything special other than the mysterious right arm of his, continued to surprise him.

Aureolus flinched. It wasn't enough that the boy's mad laughter had broken his concentration, but he had seen into those blank white eyes devoid of an iris.

Those empty eyes were amused. A dark, cruel amusement that sent a chill down Aureolus's spine.

"Oi~! Alchemist-san~! What's wrong!? Aren't you going to kill me now?" The boy taunted joyfully with a hearty chuckle on his lip.

Against his better judgement, Aureolus stepped back.

"M-Multiply The Last Command By Four! With Sonic Speed, Begin Rapid Fire!"

Four sword blades were summoned from thin air along the pistol, glinting dangerously. Raising the Sword Pistol hybrid, Aureolus fired the blades in rapid fire succession. The sawing blades released small shock waves as they cut the air. Touma's grin didn't slip a bit. To Aureolus shock, the blades swerved in their straight and true paths, slamming into the back walls with booms. Again and again, Aureolus repeated the command, firing an endless ammunition of razor sharp blades to dice the boy to fine pieces. But each one missed.

Touma never moved an inch under fire. He made no sign of dodging the many blades slicing through the air to chop another limb off. Even as one of the spinning blades flew right for his face, intent on splitting his head apart down the middle, he didn't move. The sword blade abruptly curved, following the many missed shots to shatter the back wall to pieces.

"Oh? What's the matter, Ars Magna-san? Don't tell me that you can't even finish what you've started? Come on! I still have my left arm! My legs, my head, all of me! With your words, can't you even cut off a lousy finger?!~"

Pain. No other word could describe what Touma was experiencing right now. His right arm had been chopped off and now laid on the floor far from his reach. Blood continued to squirt out of where it should be. And he was more than sure, he should have passed out this time from the agony that kept reminding him of the missing appendage like an searing pulse. His only trump card towards the Alchemist's power was now gone.

Touma couldn't help but laugh again. Above his head, the guillotine blades returned, lined up to do as they were designed. Touma whistled at the sight. Taking a step forward, he slowly walked ahead to the sweating green haired Alchemist. The executioner's blades fell along with his very step, only to shatter the second they were commanded to fall.

It was true, all Touma could feel was pain. But that pain seemed to push him further into a dark place. Was it possible to become high on pain itself? Because what he was feeling now felt so satisfying! And that look on the Alchemist's face was just too much! The cold, calculating, smug, facade was cracking. Touma could see the wielder of Ars Magna being to shake like a leaf even as Aureolus desperately continued to keep his cool.

"BIND MY ENEMY WITH UNBREAKABLE CHAINS!"

From thin air, countless steel chains made from undefinable but durable metal coiled around Touma in a vain attempt to keep him still. The chains hooked to the walls, preventing him from making another step. Touma snickered. He didn't spare the chains another thought as he took a step forward. The chains shattered, vanishing into thin air as he came closer and closer to the shaken Aureolus.

By now, Touma couldn't even feel the pain anymore. He had become numb. Or was it that he wasn't focusing his attention on such a thing anymore. Not when he now knew how to defeat Aureolus's Ars Magna. He needed to continue dwelling in that dark place a little longer, just long enough to come off as deranged. Psychotic. Insane. For what else would you call someone who ignored a missing arm on their person with a grin and a mad laugh.

"That almost tickled! Is that what you're trying to make me do, Alchemist-san? If so, than truly your Ars Magna can make what you believe possible!" Touma grinned widely.

The spoken secret of Ars Magna was what finally broke the facade on Aureolus's face. Seeing the knowing grin on Touma's face, Aureolus visibly panicked and hastily reached for another of his calming needles. His trembling hands fumbled in his panic, causing the needles to slip through his fingers and fall to the ground with a clatter. Aureolus scrambled to pick his needles up, whimpering as his shaking fingers continued to drop them.

"What's wrong, Alchemist-san? Come on now, use your words~!"

The deranged voice behind his back brought Aureolus's eyes to glance back into the empty white eyes of the blood stained high school boy. He screamed in fear and fell onto his back side before crawling for the safety of his desk. All while the boy's taunting voice followed behind.

"What's the hold up? Use. Your. Words! Say it~! Say my heart will stop! Say that I will die a horrific and gory death! It's in your power after all. Don't you believe in your own words anymore? Is your belief so weak to be shaken so easily? Bend me to your belief already!"

Reaching his desk, Aureolus feverishly dug underneath for something, anything, that would kill the monster trailing him. Tears sprang around the corners of his eyes as he heard the boy's giddy laughter growing closer. Finding nothing, he moved to look around the top of his desk before his trembling eyes caught a set of feet standing close by. Looking up, he found the red haired magician from London, standing up again with his skin returned to him. And in his arm was the slumbering form of Index.

Footsteps stopped right behind Aureolus's shaken back. His breath stopped. Despite how much he didn't want to, he found himself turning around to come face to face with the still grinning high school boy.

"Why are you shaking so much? Are you already missing the high of your little needles and suffering withdraw? How sad. Without them, you can't drown out those idle thought and doubts that dwell in the corners of your mind. Your power after all isn't making what you say into reality, but to make what you believe into reality!"

One last desperate attempt came to Aureolus's shaken mind. In the face of the monster wearing a plain boy's bloody face, he commanded one more command to rid him of the monster.

"YOUR BLOOD VESSELS WILL ERUPT AND YOUR HEART SHALL RUPTURE!"

Aureolus buried the fear deep down for just a moment. He steeled his belief without the need of the needles high to erase his doubts. And at his command, reality followed his words.

From Touma's body, multiple rips gushed blood out like a prick from a high pressured hose line. Touma's heart blew up like a popping balloon. With blood shooting out from his gasping lips, the misfortune boy began to fall back with a silent scream. His body hit the floor with a dead thud.

Aureolus grinned weakly as he calmed his beating heart. It was done! After so long, he had finally killed the annoying boy! To think he had doubted his own power!

"I'm sorry, but that's simply an illusion."

The wielder of Ars Magna felt his heart stop. The scene before him shattered like glass, revealing the still breathing high school boy standing over him. The ever present grin only widened as Aureolus whimpered with tears trailing down his quivering face. It was then, that the Alchemist began to notice something even more horrifying about the boy.

Something began to move from Touma's right side. Something invisible, painted by the splotches of blood. It began to take shape, twisting to the unseen eye to take shape of a of row dagger like teeth that could easily rend the flesh off his bones. Stained by the iron scented spatters of red, a dragon head took the place of the boy's right arm to stare hungrily down at Aureolus's terrified form.

Touma himself wasn't sure what to make of what had replaced his right arm. He didn't give it too much thought, choosing instead to finally put an end to the Alchemist's plans once and for all.

It was with one deafening series of lightning outside that illuminated the invisible beast maw, that Touma struck.

"Do you really think that you can save anyone with such twisted beliefs? Do you think that the road of good intentions can be paved with blood and death!? People aren't resources for your fucked up wishes wrought with suffering! But if you truly do believe that, than I'll crush those fucked up illusions!"

A roar from a beast of fables followed behind Touma's shout as the dragon's head stretched from his bloody shoulder. With no remorse left, he allowed the dragon to rampage, watching as its maw snapped wide open and dove straight for the whimpering Alchemist.

All he could hear before his thoughts finally shut off from the exhausting events of the day, was the horrifying cries and pleas of a man devoured by an illusion. And a haunting sound.

 ** _CRUNCH!_**

* * *

With Index still held protectively in his arms, Stiyl walked past the gruesome spatter of red on the floor to the standing form of Touma. His nose wrinkled at the foul sight of blood staining the entire right side of the boy's body. Surprisingly, the wielder of Imagine Breaker was still standing even as he had lost consciousness. Or would he call Touma the past wielder of Imagine Breaker now?

On the far side of the room, the red haired magician eyed the right arm that had been severed in the fight. It laid in a puddle of red, growing colder as the seconds ticked on. He sighed in annoyance.

"Ain't this a mess? I hope they don't expect me to clean all this up for them too." he muttered with a twitch in his eye. Not only would he have to carry Index back with him, but also a boy cursed with bad luck, his right arm, and a girl in a miko costume. Even with magic, it would be a pain in the ass to bring everyone out of the school without drawing attention.

It wasn't every day that one walked out of a cram school, surrounded by knights in medieval armor, with a nun, a high school boy missing an arm, said arm, and a miko girl at night.

His dislike for Touma only grew as he moved over to the knocked out boy. True, he had saved Index from the loss of her memories and revealed the truth of her invisible shackles, but that didn't mean he would become buddy-buddy with the punk. As if a priest could be friends with a godless heathen. Still. . .he would at least do the boy a kindness and make sure he didn't lose his arm.

"So, this is Kamijou Touma? I could have sworn his back was a lot broader before."

Stiyl froze just as his fingers reached for Touma's body. A new presence made itself known. Soft footsteps could be heard from the entrance of the room that grew closer to them. With Touma's body in the way of his view, Stiyl moved his head to find a stranger standing a few spaces from the two. He narrowed his red eyes at the slender figure, noting that their features were hidden by the hood of their long brown winter trench coat. It was odd to see a person wearing such clothes, let alone inside the cram school. Knowing that all the students in the school were still incapacitated in thanks to the effects of Ars Magna that would soon fade away, he knew that the girl was no student.

Not to mention the sense of magic she was giving off. An odd foreign flow of mana that even Stiyl was having a hard time to place. He grew wary of the new mage, subtly readying himself to attack if he had to.

Beneath the hood, the girl smiled. She reached for the lip of her hood and pulled it back.

Stiyl's breath caught in his throat.

 _'Index?'_

Raven hair flew out over the girl's shoulders and her face was finally free. Stiyl wasn't sure what he was seeing. The girl's face closely resembled Index's own. Same green eyes and white alabaster skin, she even wore the same white habit as Index's 'Walking Church'. But unlike Index's own soft features of innocence, the girl's eyes were sharper yet lax when compared to the silver nun in his arms. From what he could tell at first glance, she was most likely a few years older than Index. Those lax eyes did remind him of someone, but at the moment he couldn't place a finger on who.

The Index look alike suddenly glanced around the room, her eyes stopping on the arm belonging to the misfortune boy. Her gaze narrowed before she hastily ran over to the bloody limb. She picked up Touma's arm without a second thought or an expression of disgust. If anything, she held it gingerly and with care even Stiyl wouldn't have shown.

"I would have never thought this would be how I finally met you again." she whispered to herself with a quiver in her voice.

An odd sound echoed upon contact with Kamijou Touma's arm. The sound of shattering glass signaled a negation, but the girl showed now signs of being affected. At least to her knowledge.

But Stiyl saw. An odd miasma was dispelled from the girl's body. Stiyl had questions. A lot of questions. But at the moment, he knew that he didn't have the luxury to interrogate the strange girl who could pass off as some relative to Index. He knew that the longer they stayed in the cram school, the more at risk they were at the authorities finding them. Aleister may have allowed the red haired magician to enter the city to deal with the magical threat, but that did not mean he was protected from the likes of Anti-Skill or Judgment. Not to mention if they didn't get Touma to a hospital soon, the boy would lose his arm.

With a pensive stare at the black haired nun, Stiyl snapped his fingers to levitate Touma's body.

"I have no idea who you are, but at the moment, you don't seem like a threat. For now, make yourself useful and carry that miko girl with you. We can get to introductions once we've gotten to safety." Stiyl said sternly. He would find out why the nun with a strange magical presence wandered into the cram school later. And he would get answers, one way or the other.

The black haired nun nodded without a second thought. With a snap of her own fingers, she levitate the miko girl and followed behind the tall red haired magician. All while clutching the dismembered right arm closely to her chest.

Outside the cram school, a heavy rain fell down onto the city. The thunderstorm had finally subsided, bringing with it a heavy shower that wasn't called for by the advance technology monitoring the weather patterns.

When the people of the city of science spoke of the storm that had arrived out of no where, they would speak of the odd strikes of lightning that hit the powerful were they that all that power lines of the city had suffered and left the city without power for several moments. In fact every thing technological had been shut off before rebooting. The only building to have not suffered would be a certain Windowless Building in District 7.

Academy City wasn't the only city to have been affected. In a strange phenomenon that stunned even the scientists of Academy City, the storm was mirrored around several parts of the world at the exact same time.

* * *

 _ **The Hero has fallen. Doomed to the illusions of a Magic God who seeks only for the destruction of the world the man of misfortune had created, the newly minted Kamijou Faction seeks to find the salvation to their world in the past.**_

 _ **And so the story of a group of time traveling misfits begins. Ripples mar the waters of the history, erecting new events and new threats. Change is inevitable.**_

 _ **Misfortune is the only thing that isn't effected. In more ways than one.**_

 _ **What a poor time to be a certain unlucky high school boy.**_

 **And with that we begin our story! When the future collides with the past to create a new present, a story is born. One unlike any other seen before.**

 **Big thanks to ArmorCoreNineBall for taking a look at the first chapter. The guy's been a big influence in creating this story, among a few other authors. I hope this first chapter is enough to create some curiosity for what's to come. I assure you, that this won't be a rewrite of the story we all know so far with a few changes here and there. No, things will be a lot different in thanks to the new guests popping in. After all, you can't expect everything to be the same after such a huge ripple.**

 **I've already got a few chapters completed as well. I'm up to the beginning of Chapter 5 of the story which will lead to the big finale of the new Arc that I've created between the events of Deep Blood and The Sisters Arc. Might as well tell ya of the name of the new Arc that will begin on Chapter 3.**

 **Zeroes War.**

 **Originally I had it penned as Skill-Riots, but this seemed more appropriate. I'll say no more until we've gotten there.**

 **So, there you have it. A new story to the sect. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have in writing it. If ya got any questions let me know in the reviews. Consider this my gift to the fandom on this festive day.**

 **Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out**


	2. New Tomorrows

**Hello my people! It's NeoShadows here with the latest chapter of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps! Man! Did I come up with one hell of a name for this fic.**

 **Gotta say, I didn't expect to get much reviews or favs and follows from the first chapter. As a new writer for this sect, I was expecting to not get much until I've had a few more chapters. But so far I've seen a positive response. Makes me want to churn out even more chapters!**

 **So, next we have what I call the closing prologue. Consider the first chapter and this one the set up for this story. After this, things will be different with the new elements who've suddenly fallen into the past. The new Arc that will lead up to the Sister Arc begins on our next update. I've almost completed it and can already see the end of the arc in sight.**

 **But before we get scrolling, let's answer some reviews to get the ball rolling.**

 **BlueJack22: Competition you say? I say bring it on! Ah, this reminds me of my days in my very first sect with another author. Good times, good times. Glad to have ya on board.**

 **Majin Othinus: That's what I'm aiming for, a nice old smile on my fans faces. And we'll be seeing our man Touma's kids soon enough. As for Othinus, well, can't say. That there is spoiler territory for this fic. We'll just have to wait and see what goes on.**

 **Lordrednight: Yeah, once I got into Index during my first break with Multiplayer, a few fans suggested various animes to watch in my free time. A Certain Magical Index was truly the one that stood out from all the rest though! Oh, I fell in love with the characters, the world, the concepts, and the adventures of a normal high school boy. I just couldn't help myself but begin developing my own story and here we are. Glad to know I got Touma's character right. That's always a new writers biggest concern when stepping into a new fandom.**

 **DigitalEmperor001: Glad to have ya on board. Ya won't regret it.**

 **TheGamer24:** **Perdón por la decepción, tenía mucho trabajo que hacer antes de poder volver a escribir. Me alegra ver que todavía me sigues historias! En cuanto a la historia de pokemon que tengo en las obras, tomará algo de tiempo antes de poder lanzarla. ¡Pero me aseguraré de avisarte cuando esté listo!**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: Told ya I would bring it out. Since the addition of the future kids to the past, new events will rise up to test out our boy in ways he's never been tested before! I have ya to thank for giving me the confidence to let this story go through.**

 **AJ Cruz the Gemini: Ya like ToAru too? Nice. I didn't expect too many of my RWBY fans to read this fic, so it's a pleasant surprise to see a few of ya here. And yes, our boy has passed on in the future. But he lives in the present, much to his future misfortune.**

 **WilliamZ0: ArmorCoreNineBall was a great inspiration who was one of the authors that lead me to finally tackle writing a fic of my own. I don't know if I'll some readers because of the M rating, I mean the LN itself ain't exactly rated T and has its fair share of blood and gore, but we'll see what happens. I couldn't have it any other way and felt I would have more freedom with the rating. The effects of Time Travel are a real thing, one that won't be brought up for a while, but that does bring up the matter of kind of Time Travel this is. There are many theories on the matter after all. And the children were the most fun to come up with. I'd rather have the fans guess on that. No spoilers. I'll be sure to have something worthy of your time with the next Arc that's to come up on the next chapter.**

 **Jordinio: Oh, the Sister's Arc! That's a goody but we'll get to that after this new Arc.**

 **DeoV: How many? HOW MANY!? HOW MANY DO YA THINK!? Just try and guess!**

 **And that's that for reviews. I believe we got a story to get to. So, stop dawdling and get to scrolling already!**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi. Seriously, I don't even know how I have to time to even write fanfiction with my busy schedule. I'm constantly juggling coffee and sandwiches at work while trying to flirt with the beauty salon girls that work above my store! Seems I only have luck when it come to surviving near deaths rather than picking up girls. Man, I would trade that kind of luck for luck with woman in an instant! Even if it means that damn ice cream truck would finally be able to take me out.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: New Tomorrows.**

 ** _Of_Lost_Comforts._**

Aleister Crowley was many things to the world. Whether it was a world of Light, Darkness, Magic, or Science, the man who appeared as a child, a man, a woman, a saint or a sinner, Aleister's name carried a certain weight to it.

He was known as 666, The Beast, to the world of magic. A heretic who rejected the teachings and blessings of God. A man who thought little of sin and divulged in his own pleasures out of curiosity. The very man who had brought ruin to the greatest magical cabal of their time. He was also believed to be dead. A traitor who had turned his back to his own kind. A dark botch on the history of the magical world. He was a man who the magic side had rejoiced in his supposed death.

To the world of Science, he was known as the General Superintendent of Academy city as its leader. A man responsible for the Power Curriculum Program that created Espers, humans who surpassed their limits to perform feats that could only be described as miracles. Who's technological advancements in fields of technology had created a utopia for all matters scientific. His knowledge had gone so far to bear powers of supernatural nature to those who developed in his city. Though for all the Light his city bore, it was also responsible for the Darkness that hid beneath all the glamour and wonder.

He was a genius with no equal. A human who had turned down the opportunity to become a Magic God. A man who despised the idea of 'God' and wished to wipe out all magic. He had even been a husband and father once upon a time. Truly when one had learned all of what Aleister had done and been through, one could not deny just how human he was.

Aleister Crowley was many things. But one thing he hadn't been in a very long time was surprised.

Within the Windowless Building that housed and protected the man who manipulated the city from the shadows for his own wishes, the feminine and masculine faced man floated upside down in the large tube that kept alive with wide eyes. He actually couldn't recall the last time he had found himself surprised. Perhaps the first time would have been when he bore witness to the just how misfortune the new wielder of Imagine Breaker was when he entered his city. It was quiet odd to see a small army of cleaning robots, small dogs, and even a leopard chase down an elementary school boy over what had simply started as the boy bending down to tie his shoes.

It had also been the first time in a long time that the man known as The Greatest Magician in History had chuckled.

So, what exactly had been the cause for Aleister appearing surprised? Well, that would be in the person standing in front of his tube. Someone he did not recognize nor did he invite into his building. No one but those Aleister deemed necessary ever entered his stronghold. His building was impenetrable to any Magician or Esper who dared to even scratch a single panel. With the exception of one Teleporter, no other individual could enter. Yet the stranger had entered and bypassed all his defenses without a scratch on them. Even more curious was the fact he hadn't noticed anyone entering until now.

As for the stranger, she stood at 5'9 with a familiar shade of colorless white hair that was tied back in a professional bun that he would see on a secretary. The girl wore a white blouse with black buttons, a black business skirt that went to her ankles with fishnet leggings, and oddly enough, finger-less leather gloves that stood out to her professional attire. The girl wore rectangular glasses that she fixed after a moment out of habit. But what really caught his attention other than her appearance and presence, were her eyes.

The girl had a set of dark blue eyes that he could have sworn were black. He had seen those eyes before on a certain misfortune boy.

The business attired girl didn't seem to be fazed by his presence. If anything, she merely quirked a brow at him, taking his appearance as a slight surprise, before clearing her throat. He had to admit, he was impressed by the young woman. No one who knew him as he was, as the traitor to magicians, as the Superintendent of Academy City, ever regarded him so coolly. Not even the Backstabbing Blade.

It was only out of pure intrigue that the girl didn't feel the sting of his Spiritual Tripping.

"I assume that you would like to know of who I am? And what I want from the infamous Edward Alexander Crowley?"

The peaked intrigue Aleister had had been shattered like an illusion. The girl had all of his attention.

". . .Who are you, girl?" Aleister spoke softly with narrowed eyes.

The mystery girl smirked as she laid her left hand on her chest.

"I am simply proof that your wish will come true someday. Though you shouldn't be surprised that it's not in the manner that you had intended. After all, when one uses the Imagine Breaker in their strategy, they are bound to see their plans shattered and reformed to the reality of that boy. Kamijou Touma is not exactly known for failing to save a damsel in distress after all."

In the life supporting office inside the Windowless Building, not a sound could be heard. Aleister wasn't sure what to make of what he had just heard from the mystery girl. Currently, his mind was firing off all the meanings behind the girl's words, the neurons in his brain going off like a field of explosive mines. With his vast mind, he came up with hundreds of possible meanings and outcomes from what could be inferred. What he would do next would rest on what he attained from those four sentences. And the girl herself.

Aleister's lips turned up, a smile of curiosity growing on his normally expressionless features.

"Oh? And if so, what are your intentions, my sweet little proof?"

The spectacle mystery girl came closer to the life supporting machine to meet the eyes of the silver haired magician. Her features were determined, reminding him all too much of the boy who composed most of his plans. It was only when she had come closer to him that he found something startling on the girl's person. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, finding an odd miasma of magical energy that was completely new to him seeping into the girl's body. Annoyance painted his features as he began to analyze the foreign energy. It wouldn't do to have someone messing with something he found intriguing.

"My intentions are for that reality to become true."

Something was affecting the girl. That would not do. First though, he would have to take care of Secretary-chan. And discover what reality she wanted realized. Once he found out what she wanted, how she got here, and what use she was to him, Aleister would decided what to do with the white haired girl.

In the coming days, Aleister would find that many of his plans would have to go through heavy revisions.

* * *

Waking up in the hospital should have been alarming for a normal person. It wasn't everyday that you found yourself laying back in bed with an IV connected to your arm, stripped out of your clothes into a hospital gown, while wrapped up in several bandages, gauze, and a cast for your dismembered arm. But for one Kamijou Touma, it felt oddly. . . normal. An odd scent hit his noses randomly, reminding him of honey. Shutting his eyes tiredly while breathing the comforting aroma, Touma's head hit the pillow of his bed as he scratched his head. The scent helped to ease him a bit.

 _'Just what exactly had the past Kamijou done to be this use to a hospital bed of all things? This is my second time here and I don't even fell nervous! I actually fell comfortable here! Than again, I have been sleeping in a bathtub for two weeks now. I miss my bed.'_

Sleeping in a bathtub for several days was not comfortable. And it did a number on his back too. Touma wouldn't be surprised if his spine was screwed up in the future. But what was he suppose to do when living with a silver haired nun with only one bed in his dorm? He was pretty sure it was a sin to force a nun to sleep on the cold hard floor. And he was a healthy teenage boy, so sleeping in the safe bed with a girl right next to his body was a big no-no. It already appeared that God didn't like him for some reason, why bother falling further in his eyes? He was sure his misfortune would double!

At any point he could have simply turned Index away. As a girl of the cloth, who followed God's teachings to heart, she didn't belong in a place like Academy City. It was a godless world without faith in what they could not see or prove. She was better off leaving to her home or somewhere that would accept her for the religious follower she was.

Except she had no where to go. He had come to learn much about the poor girl who found herself abandoned in a world completely alien to her. She was a girl who held thousands upon thousands of magical forbidden text in her mind and was constantly being chased by others who wished to abuse such power for themselves. And through a series of events he could no longer recall, Touma had found himself as her protector.

It still baffled him. He, Kamijou Touma, just a normal high school boy who possessed the worst kind of luck imaginable, was the protector of a girl who belonged to a magical side of the world with a literal library of forbidden magic in her head. He really had to ask himself what the hell kind of things the original Kamijou got himself in.

In the end though it didn't matter. Not as long as he could protect that precious smile that had greeted him when he awoke with nothing in his head. Sleeping in a bathtub was a small price to pay for her happiness. Maybe it was that bright smile that had the previous Kamijou protecting her despite the danger. Who would know? That reasoning was gone.

This Kamijou though would watch over the nun for his own reasons.

At the moment, said nun wasn't anywhere to be seen. Touma hadn't seen the head of silver-blue hair since the events of the Misawa's Cram school. This was actually the first moment he had opened his eyes. A moment that was full of aches, pains, groans and sores. It was a wonder he was alive after taking several magical bullets to the chest. And the loss of his right arm.

To Touma's shock and disbelief, said arm was now back on his shoulder. It was in a sling and any movement with it right now sent a spasm of sharp pain up his entire right side of his body. He couldn't help but stare at it in wonder, swearing he was going to wake up without a right arm. That would be his kind of luck after all.

"At least I won't have to learn how to write with my left hand now." Touma chuckled to himself tiredly while trying to flex his right fingers. He winced deeply, "Maybe they could have given me some kind of robot arm or something if I did lose it."

"Hmm, well it wouldn't be that complicated with my skills, but a cybernetic arm would bring with it its own problems and inconveniences. Let's now forget that bad luck of yours too. I'm sure a prosthetic arm would only bring you more troubles."

Hearing a familiar chuckle, Touma found the frog faced doctor who had greeted him on his first official day as Kamijou Touma. The frog faced observation wasn't an insult, the man really did have a face that resembled a frog's. Touma had half a mind to call the man Dr. Gekota at the this point. After all, the doctor never did give the high school boy his name. Only his title.

Heaven Canceler.

A light frown appeared on Heaven Canceler's face as he observed the bed ridden carrier of Imagine Breaker move his right fingers.

"I would refrain from stressing the muscles right now. Though it's been a day since the surgery, and you've recovered remarkably well for having your entire right arm severed, your still in no condition to be moving it around. You will be experiencing some pain for next few days but that's the only true negative I can speak of now." Heaven Canceler smirked as he began reading over the medical chart he had in hand, "Most people who had their body parts severed and attached have to go through months of physical therapy to be able to properly move a muscle, and that's outside Academy City. Here, it would take maybe a month to regain movement, and even than it's still not the same as before. You though. . .your arm seems to have attached itself with no trouble at all. Even your blood flow from your shoulder to your fingers seems to be running smoothly." he remarked fascinated.

Touma frowned lightly. Right, his right arm. The one that seemed to carry the odd power known as Imagine Breaker. It was hard to believe that he held such a thing in the first place. Wasn't he just a normal high school student? Again, he had to ask what exactly the past Kamijou Touma had been up to. At least the troublesome power helped him to save Himegami.

 _'Though I could have sworn I saw a dragon's head where my arm would be.'_ He must have been seeing things back then. Even with the power to negate supernatural powers, he shouldn't have been capable of summoning a dragon of all things from his arm.

Questions and more questions. That was all the current Touma was given with his new life. That and the bottomless stomach pit of a nun.

"You know, this marks the second time in two weeks that you've found yourself in the hospital, Kamijou-san." Heaven Canceler remarked out of the blue, seeming not all too surprised by the fact.

"Really?" Touma scratched the back of his head, "Is this common for me? Because it doesn't feel that strange to be here. It's actually kinda comfortable."

"Well, the old Kamijou-san did have a habit of getting into trouble with Espers on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. I swear you were once admitted five times in one week. In fact this room you're currently staying in is famously known by the doctors and nurses as the Kamijou Ward. We're this close to simply putting up a plaque with your name on it."

"Seriously! Just what the hell was the past Kamijou up to!? Was I a delinquent or something!?"

"I wouldn't say that. Though," Heaven Canceler leaned in close to the bed ridden boy with a devious whisper, "Maybe it's the nurses? I do recall your previous self may have had a thing for nurses. Eh, eh?"

"Don't go making up assumptions on your own! This Kamijou may not remember anything from his past life, but his love for Dorm Manger Onee-san's will never be forgotten. Something as precious as that won't be erased from my heart so easily!"

"What about Onee-san's in nurse or doctor's uniforms?"

Touma flinched. The damn frog face had him there.

Chuckling, Heaven Canceler regarded the papers on hand with a hum, "Well, you'll be free to go by the end of the night anyways. Good thing too, that little nun that's been living with you has been visiting constantly since yesterday."

Made sense. Seeing as Touma was the only person Index knew, other than Maika, she would be checking up on him nearly every hour she could. Poor girl was probably lonely. And hungry. Soon his wallet would be as empty as as Index's stomach.

"I'll be sure to send you off with some pain killers to treat anymore discomfort you may feel. Though, knowing you, you probably won't need them. This isn't the worst that I've treated you for." Heaven Canceler said with a bitter smile.

"I've been through worse?" Touma sighed tiredly, finding himself not all that surprised. Was he some kind of shonen protagonist before his mind was wiped away?

No, seriously. That was a question this poor, unfortunate Kamijou wanted answered.

A random thought suddenly hit Touma, reminding him of something he had noticed when he had left the hospital on his first day in his new life. It was question that had been nagging at him, so better to ask now before he forgot.

"That reminds me, how much is this going to cost me?" Touma asked winced. Weirdly enough, he didn't get a hospital bill last time. He was sure he would be seeing some bill or something in his mail at some point during the last two weeks. Maybe it was lost? If so, than he probably owed a whole lot more than he could ever pay off in a month alone, plus late fees. That would be his bad luck.

Heaven Canceler surprised Touma, shaking his head with an amused smile.

"Don't worry about it, Kamijou-san. As with the past bills, it's already been taken care of. Think nothing of it."

"Already taken care of? By who?"

Heaven Canceler zipped his lip, only further confusing Touma.

"Can't say. Like I said, think nothing of it."

"How the hell can I not think nothing of it?! Knowing my misfortune, I'm probably in debt to whoever is paying for all my medical expenses! I don't want to one day find some suited goon knocking down my door, asking for a favor that I can't refuse!"

Sadly, Touma wouldn't get an answer. The frog faced doctor's back was already facing him as he headed out the door with a few words following him.

"I'll be sure to let your visitors in now that you're feeling well enough to sit up right and talk. We'll provide you some clothes before you leave as well. I believe you still have a few uniforms you've left behind that the nurses were kind enough to patch up for you to wear."

With the door shutting, Touma was left alone again. He couldn't help but sigh at the events that had passed, the knowledge that someone was taking care of his hospital expenses for unknown reasons, the thought of having to feed a very hungry Index, and the aches in his right arm that were slowly creeping up. At the very least, he would get some peace and quiet. That was something of a commodity he had come to treasure when he could.

Such peace would not come to the wielder of Imagine Breaker as the door creaked open.

* * *

Passing by a certain red haired magician heading for Touma's room, Heaven Canceler was ready to head for the next patient that needed his attention now that his favorite patient was taken care of.

 _'Losing a right arm now? That boy certainly knows how to keep me busy. But seeing as the arm in question holds Imagine Breaker, I'm not surprised that the surgery went well. Now we wait and see when the boy will be back again.'_ Heaven Canceler mused with a light chuckle. _'I believe the next betting pool is already up. I wonder who will win the pot this time.'_

Since one Kamijou Touma regularly found himself in the hospital staff's care, they had one day decided to set up a betting pool that went on through out the week. A number would be given to a trio of the staff from 1-7, and all the gathered yen would be rewarded to those who's number fell on the day a certain unfortunate boy came in. Was it sad that they made a betting pool out of the boy's regular visits? Yes, but there was nothing they could do to stop him from being admitted. And it did no real harm. Especially since most of the female nurses used a good amount to assist with the unlucky boy's hospital bills. Someone else though took care of a good half of it already.

Heading for his office, Heaven Canceler's musing were caught off as he noted something strange in the halls. The halls were empty, completely devoid of anyone. At this time of day, he would expect to see guests on their way to visit friends and family, along with the hospital staff making their rounds. He narrowed his eyes before sighing.

"Shokuhou-chan, you know I don't like it when you take control of my staff for your own means. Even if its for a conversation. You could have simply waited for me at my office like a normal person."

From the right corner of the hall, a well endowed honey blonde haired girl stepped out into Heaven Canceler's sight. From her school uniform which included white laced stockings and gloves, he knew the girl was a Tokiwadai student, one of the ojou-sama's well known in Academy City. But unlike the other rich girls, this girl was different. Other than her strange eyes that held stars, and her impressive figure for a middle school girl that would belong to a mature woman, she was one of the seven Level 5's in the city of Espers.

Number 5, Mental Out. Shokuhou Misaki.

The golden haired girl pouted cutely as she walked over to the frog faced doctor. In her hand she held a remote that she put away into her star stamped designer handbag.

"Aww, but this is so much easier, Gekota-san~!"

Heaven Canceler's brow twitched slightly in irritation. He was a doctor, not a frog.

"I take it by the fact you're here that you've already visited a certain high school boy already. Tell me," he asked as he shut his eyes with a somber frown, "Has anything changed?"

The bright and energetic aura the girl carried with her died in that moment. Her starry eyes seemed to dim as a sad smile grew on her face. Shaking her head, she laced her fingers together behind her waist as she found her gaze staring up at the ceiling.

"Sadly, no. His memory ability is still as damaged as that day. Though I suppose he wouldn't remember either way now, right? His memory was further damaged two weeks ago in another of his heroic ventures. I shouldn't be surprised by now, but that doesn't mean I would be happy either." Misaki answered in melancholy.

On a certain day one year ago, Kamijou had saved Shokuhou Misaki from a gang of Level-0's known as Deadlock. But it had come at a price. The part of Touma's brain that held the long term memory that allowed him to keep her in his memories was crushed as she saved his life. A price had been paid in order for the boy who taught her how to smile honestly to live. And as much as it had killed her to never be able to walk alongside him again, she found solace in the fact Touma could continue living.

Yet, despite Touma no longer being capable of remembering her, she hadn't left his life. Knowing that she could no longer stand next to him, she had opted to watch over him from the shadows. Her ability Mental Out made it possible for her to have countless eyes and ears trained on him. Not a day went by that she didn't have some report made up of the boy by one of the many citizens she controlled, detailing all the trouble he got into and any injuries he may have picked up. That way she could do whatever she could in her power to subtly help him out and make his unfortunate life a bit easier.

One of such things regarded Touma's many, many, trips to the hospital. Her Prince had a nasty habit of winding up in the care of the frog faced doctor there in his heroic ventures. And such trips wound up with hefty hospital bills that would drain him of what little money he had. As a Level-5 she had no trouble taking up some of the tab for him. As one of the seven people in the city of 2.3 million students to have achieved such a high level, she was paid lavishly, never having to worry about silly things such as expenses or finances. Though she would admit that taking care of her Prince's hospital bills did make a noticeable dent in her pocket.

At one point, she did ponder on how Touma could live as he did when he spent as much time in the hospital before they met a year ago. From she had learned using her ability, some unknown and untraceable party had taken care of him. When Misaki had come into the picture and began paying for his expenses, the unknown party had backed off to let her take care of her Prince.

Today was just another day for her poor Prince. Caught up in saving another damsel in distress, followed by a trip to the hospital. Misaki's face grimaced at the condition Kamijou had come in this time. Full of bullet wounds, bruises, and a dismembered right arm of all things. Her heart had been caught in a vice at the state she found him in once the surgery was done. Covered in bandages as always, he laid back in a peaceful sleep that he deserved.

Misaki would have loved nothing more than for her Prince to wake up to the sight of her, smiling warmly and stroking back his spiky hair, but such an illusion would only be shattered. All she could do was caress his face softly before leaving at the signs of waking up and a sweet talk he would no doubt forget. Such was the extent of their relationship ability. And she would be happy with just that.

She looked past the frog faced doctor, seeing beyond the halls to the room Touma rested in with a small smile.

"I wonder if that girl knows just how lucky she is to be saved by him. Hopefully they all don't take their spots in his heart for granted. They don't know how fortunate they are to have their names in his heart."

Heaven Canceler wasn't sure what to say to that. The girl in front of him was by no means a saint, her powers allowing her to control and manipulate others like her playthings with but a thought and press of a button. But even she didn't deserve this kind of silent suffering, especially after she had grown into a proper person. Sadly, there was nothing he could. The damage done to Touma's brain was far beyond even his capabilities. He could bring just about anyone back from the brink of death, but the same could not be said to that which was already lost. Even memories.

"Well he has you to thank for the life he lives. Even if said life is only made up of two weeks of memories now." Heaven Canceler chuckled.

Misaki pouted when thinking back to the event that lead to Touma's recent memory loss, "Now that silver haired sister is staying with him in his dorm. Seems every time he ends up in the hospital for one reason or another, he gains another girl in his harem. I was the original, damn it!" she cried childishly.

"Were you?" Heaven Canceler asked with a grin.

Misaki crossed her arms over her impressive chest, looking away with her pout only growing. Even with her knowledge and vast network of informants, she didn't know the extent of Touma's supposed harem. One that her Prince never acknowledged. Which she couldn't complain. That dense head of his allowed her to hope that one day, if a miracle were to occur, that her Prince would become her King once he gained the ability to remember her.

"I'm the best girl at least."

"I'm sure others would argue about that."

As much fun as it was to mess with the Mental Out, Heaven Canceler knew the real reason she was here. Other than visiting her beloved Prince, she was here for information. He shook his head sadly with a tired old sigh.

"I'm sad to say that there is still no progress on Kamijou's condition. Recent studies in neurology haven't found any way to fix the damage to the part of his brain that had been crushed, nor have we found any Esper abilities that could repair or manipulate the brain as greatly as you could. Though there have been recent findings using several drugs and an intricate surgery to the parts that control episodic and explicit memory to partially regain what he had lost. But," Heaven Canceler frowned distastefully.

Misaki frowned at the look.

"But?"

"But the success rate of it actually working are 3%, and that's only a theory." he said regretfully.

What little hope Misaki had found was dashed in an instant. Her shoulders sagged, accepting the fact that today would not be the day for her Prince to come back into her life.

Heaven Canceler looked away, scratching his cheek awkwardly as he spoke again in a more thoughtful tone.

"While the other methods all lead to a low chance of success, the one that I've spoken to you before still remains the one to have the highest chance of-"

"No."

The curt and immediate response was predictable. As Heaven Canceler glanced back at the golden blond Esper, he noted the stubborn yet sorrowed expression she wore.

"Shokuhou-san, I know that you wish for a way to restore his long term memory of you with the highest chance of success, but 91% is as far as you can get. What you ask for is asking for a miracle from God himself to grace you."

There was a chance that Kamijou Touma could retain his memories of one Shokuhou Misaki. And that chance laid within the powers of Mental Out. Along with his expertise and advance medical technology, it could be possible to fix the damage to Touma's brain using Mental Out's control of the fluids in his brain. There was a chance. Keyword, chance.

"And if the 9% were to occur during the surgery, he could also lose the functions of not only his episodic, explicit, semantic memory, but also his cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. The damage would be worse than a memory wipe, he'd be no better than a vegetable before dying after losing function of his major organs." she said bitterly.

It was a small 9% chance of failure. Anyone else would have taken it if it meant the return of their most precious person. But Touma was cursed with misfortune. Misaki herself was never one for superstition, but after meeting the boy who lived his day plagued by bad luck, she had become a believer. And knowing his luck, that small 9% would occur. Even if it was but a 1% chance of failure, she could not take those odds with her Prince.

What Misaki asked for was nothing less that 100%. Nothing but the absolute would satisfy her. Because no matter how desperate she was, how much it tore her apart to walk by her Prince as some random faceless stranger in the background, how jealous she became of the girls that followed after him, she would never put Touma in any harm. She had hurt him enough by simply being his friend.

It was ironic when she thought about it. The only way Misaki could ever have her wish come true was for a miracle to grace her in a city that abandoned the teachings of miracles.

Heaven Canceler knew it was a long shot to suggest such a thing. Honestly, he understood her refusal with Touma's void of luck. The boy with an air of misfortune would not be so fortunate of a single chance.

"I suppose I'll just have to continue researching the matter on my free time." Heaven Canceler said tiredly as he rested his hands in his doctor's coat pockets.

Shokuhou couldn't be more than thankful. She knew the doctor had more important things to attend to than one boy's destroyed long term memory of one girl. She wasn't even paying him for it either. It was something he himself did on his own accord. In his mind, he believed he had yet to finish bringing the boy back from the battlefield of a year ago. But if he were to ever find that absolute solution, than she would give anything in this world to repay him for all his work.

"If you do find anything, let me know right away. I'll rush over as quick as possible!"

"Really? Has your running ability improved since last we talked?" Heaven Canceler asked dryly.

Shokuhou huffed with an embarrassed blush.

"Who said anything about running over?"

Heaven Canceler wasn't sure he wanted to continue this line of dialogue. Not unless he wanted to be dragged in the antics of a Level-5, which was never a good idea.

With nothing more to talk about, the frog faced miracle worker went on his way to his office. He still had much more work to do. He did pause as a frown marred his face.

"Shokuhou-san, by any chance do you know of the nature of the thunderstorm from a day ago? It seemed far too sudden and abnormal for it to be a natural phenomenon."

Since the destruction of Tree Diagram, weather casting was less accurate than before. But even with the lack of the super computer's computations to predict the weather using the molecules in space, even a an amateur meteorologist could predict off the back of their hand that not a drop would fall on a cloudless night, let alone rain lightning. Not to mention the nature of the bolts that struck that night.

Something wasn't right about the lightning that fell. Something had caused it. And when something big and flashy happened in the city, it usually involved a Level-5. Or Kamijou Touma.

Or worse. Both.

Shokuhou tapped her cheeks in thought. She was like many others who noticed the abnormal thunderstorm. It had been powerful enough to shut off the power to the entire city, something that had never happened before, for all but a split second. And while the power had returned, things such as security systems had failed to come online for several minutes. For a moment, she had honestly thought the Railgun could have been responsible for all the lightning flashing around the city, but even she wasn't capable of such a thing alone with her power.

"Sorry to say, but no. Though if anyone had any idea to the strange storm, it would be my Prince."

Seeing as the Mental Out knew nothing, Heaven Canceler shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way. He waved good-bye to the busty middle school girl with a promise to continue his research.

As strange as the storm had been, it hadn't done any permanent damage. City life went back to its usual flow, chalking up the storm as something that couldn't be explained at the moment, or wasn't worth their attention to look into. Other than the power outage, nothing had come up from the storm.

Still, Heaven Canceler couldn't help the nagging foreboding in his gut.

It would only be in the coming months that he wished he had prepared himself for the troubles to come.

* * *

"Touma!"

Touma blinked, his eyes turning to the entrance to his room for just a few seconds before he heard the flutter of the curtain of his window flapping. The tall red haired mage he was just speaking to, Stiyl Magnus, was nowhere to be seen. Did he seriously just jump out the window? Seriously!?Even a city of science that developed psychic powers, it still wasn't normal for people to be jumping out windows!What happened to subtlety?

Just earlier the red haired priest had walked in to talk about the aftermath of their fight with Aureoles Izzard. Compared to when Touma had first met the Stiyl, it was pleasant. You know, beside the fact they had both been mutilated just a day ago. Stiyl had even peeled him an apple! Though he had done it with a sour face the entire face, appearing irritated with the very action that left a bad taste in his mouth.

From what Touma had learned, Aureoles had lost his memories in the aftermath of his attack. Whatever Touma had done with the illusion of a dragon's maw had erased all of the Alchemist's memories along with his ability to use magic, leaving him a blank state. The wielder of Imagine Breaker couldn't help but feel sympathy for his enemy. Even if the green haired bastard deserved to be punished for all the suffering in the cram school, that didn't mean he deserved such a fate as losing what made him, _him_. He knew all too well how that felt.

But at least Aureoles was alive. The last thing Touma had remembered was the dragon stained with blood devouring the Alchemist with a sickening crunch.

Speaking of the dragon, Touma had wondered what it was. Stiyl had off handily said it was nothing but a creation of Aureoles's Ars Magna. Even when the green haired Alchemist's belief had been shaken, his fear had conjured the beast as his demise. The form of the dragon was nothing more than an illusion brought to life.

Touma felt an odd sense of foreboding when he thought back to the dragon. Just an illusion, huh? Hopefully that was all it was.

The conversation would have continued on if it wasn't for the sound of Index happily calling out his name. And with that, Stiyl took his cue to exit. Out the window. Someone was awfully shy.

A smile did grow on Touma's face as Index entered with a bright smile. It was good to know that she was safe and well. Nothing would have pained him more to find out that she had been hurt. Even the severed arm wouldn't have compared to that kind of hurt.

In his eyes, as he watched Index run up to him, he could see the background grow incredibly bright. Sparkles and bright orbs colored the background as he could swear time grew slow between them. The bright and happy nun's aura gave off a light that shined brighter than the sun outside his window. After sleeping for an entire day after the fight with Aureolus, this was exactly what he had wanted to greet him.

"Index!"

"Touma!"

"Index!"

"TOUMA!"

"I. . .ndex?"

"TTTTTOOOOOUUUUMMMMAAAA!"

Touma gulped dryly as the illusion his weary eyes had weaved had been shattered by the frightening shout. Index's slow run had turned into a flying leap, her mouth snapping open as her teeth gave off a dangerous glint. Sweat bullets ran down his paling face, knowing there was nothing he could do to ward off the incoming nun missile in his condition. All that he could do was lament.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

The little silver haired nun chomped down onto the scalp of the high school boy with the force of a latching bear trap, refusing to let go even as the boy began to shake her off with a cry of misery.

"You think I wouldn't have heard about what you did?! Going off to save Aisa on your own, playing hero again, fighting a magician/alchemist who could bend reality to his beliefs, and losing your arm!? What do you take me for, Touma!?" Index shouted through her gnawing teeth.

"I-Index-sama! Please spare this poor Kamijou-san! He's still recovering from losing said arm! I don't want to have to stay another day because of injuries that would make a shark victim pale with pity! And how do you even know about losing my arm? Don't tell me that the pious nun has developed psychic powers in the city of science yet this unfortunate Kamijou can't even lift a penny off the ground with his mind after ten years!"

Index scoffed, letting go of her friend as she opted to sit down on Touma's bed. Still miffed about the whole ordeal he had got himself into, she gave the boy the stink eyes as she explained.

"Aisa told me, of course! As if a servant of God would develop such odd powers without his grace. Besides, did you think you could hid such a secret from me forever? I would have found out eventually." she gloated, referring to the mass knowledge she possessed from the 103,000 books ingrained to her memory.

True, such knowledge would make those in the field of magic bulk and bow to the sheer information they possessed on matters and powers that can bend reality. But having such knowledge funnily enough did not make a person intelligent on all matters. Touma couldn't help but stare at the innocent nun flatly. He was positive that she could have woken up the next day none the wiser. She wouldn't question a thing, only asking about breakfast. If it wasn't for her finding out by another person's word, she would have never found out about his fight with Aureoles. Hell, she still hadn't figure out that the Touma she spoke off in such a warm and familiar tone was dead.

Bitterness could be tasted on his tongue, causing Touma to hide a guilty flinch. No, it was better not to think of such things now. The original 'Kamijou' was long gone, replaced my some imitation. But this imitation had a responsibility. A responsibility to make sure that sweet smile on the silver sister's face never fell. And that the sad smile he had seen on her face never returned again.

Masking the pain, he smiled at Index, patting her head as the action caused her face to beam like a brilliant light.

"Yeah, sure you would have." he said in mock defeat before blinking as he thought back to what Index had said, "Wait, Himegami told you? The girl in the shrine maiden cosplay and sullen vibe? What happened to her?" he asked desperately, surprising Index as he gripped her shoulders.

While it was a bit of a shock to be held in such a position, Index didn't seem to care. Her eyes had wandered to the side of Touma's bed post to the plate of peeled apples. Her mouth watered with stars in her eyes. Such a simple little snack was nothing to be star struck by, but no meal in her sights was beneath her! She squirmed in the grip of the unfortunate boy, her arms flailing to reach the plate of yummy apples calling to her. Touma's eye twitched.

Sighing, he let go of the hungry nun, letting her gleefully munch down on his apples. A small snicker did escape his lips though, remembering who had given him the apples. He had to wonder if Stiyl had done it for him, or for the friend he could no longer stand next to.

"I'm not some sullen vibe, you know."

Jumping slightly in surprise, Kamijou spun his head to the corner of the doorway to find the soft yet neutral face belonging to Himegami Aisa, wielder of Deep Blood. The miko clothed girl leaned against the corner, her eyes slightly narrowed in a glare at the nervous spiky haired boy.

"Himegami? W-What are you doing here?" Kamijou spoke nervously.

Mouth full of juicy apple slices, Index answered in Himegami's stead, "Well, she wanted to thank you personally for all you did. I wanted her to stay back at our dorm and wait until you were out, she was very insistent on coming along. I couldn't just say no to that face! Just look at her!" Index cried, pointing her finger back at the Deep Blood possessor.

Following Index's finger, Touma flinched as if he was struck right in the heart. Himegami wasn't doing anything to really stand out, which seemed to suit her character, but that face of hers! So soft, so gentle, appearing sullen yet beautiful. Sensing that she may not have been welcome, her face had subtly grown more sullen. Kamijou clutched at his heart, feeling like a bastard for making the poor girl feel unwelcome in anyway. It was those subtle and almost unnoticeable changes to her face that just pulled at his heartstrings.

How the hell could anyone say no to that face!?

"I apologize if I'm intruding, Kamijou-san."

Sweating nervously, Touma waved off the vampire killer's concerns with a smile.

"No, it's fine, Himegami! I just wasn't expecting to see you after Aureolus was defeated. I would have thought Stiyl would have taken you to safety, out of Academy City."

"Touma, aren't you paying attention?" Index mumbled through a mouthful of apples, causing annoyance to paint over Touma's face, "With no where to go, I offered her sanctuary at our dorm! And after talking with the church, they've decided to take Aisa in! Isn't that great!?"

"Please, don't talk with your mouth full! You're spitting Index made apple sauce onto this unfortunate Kamijou! And yeah, I guess it is good that the church is taking her in, but what the hell do you mean OUR DORM!? Don't go bringing in other people into my dorm without my permission! Feeding the bottomless well that is your stomach, a cat, and myself is hard enough to do as is! And do you know what my dorm manager would do if they found out that this Kamijou is hiding to two girls and a cat in his dorm!? Let alone Aogami and Tsuchimikado finding out!"

Ready to go off into another one of his famous rants, Kamijou was stopped by the soft voice of a certain miko.

"Why?"

"Hm? Why what?" Touma asked with a frown as Himegami seemed to hid herself further behind her corner. Her eyes peeked around, stubborn as she spoke more strongly this time.

"Why did you save me? Why did you put yourself through so much suffering for me? You don't even know me." Himegami asked with a confused and frustrated frown. She looked down, away from those dark blue eyes that could be confused with onyx. The same eyes that had looked to her in concern, wishing nothing more than to protect her from harm. The same eyes that she had seen for only second after she had died, holding her with a death grip close to his chest. Himegami bit her bottom lip, still refusing to look back to the one who had saved her from her prison.

"Why would you do such a thing as throw your life away for a girl you only met once in a fast food restaurant?"

No one could be such selfless as to put their life on the line for a complete and utter stranger. This wasn't some fantasy her mother had use to read to her as a kid. Hearts of pure gold did not exist. There was always a catch. A reason for putting everything at risk for one person. A reward. A job that needed to be done and nothing more. In this world, no one would run head first to a path that would lead to their death for a person that had only just met that day.

"Well, Stiyl did drag me along to save you from Aureoles."

So, that was it? Himegami wasn't surprised. Still, she couldn't help the small tears that gathered in her eyes. For a just a moment, she had hoped he would be such a person. At least he had saved her, even if it was his job. She could at least be thankf-

"But why wouldn't I? What does it matter if I was dragged along to save you? Even if Stiyl hadn't brought me to help out, I would have done it regardless if I knew. Knowing that you were in danger was enough reason for me go in. Besides, it's not like I get some kind of compensation out of all this." Touma chuckled weakly as he scratched his cheek.

Himegami's eyes snapped up to meet the tired yet happy eyes of her hero. She took in the bandages wrapped around his chest from all the bullet wounds he had suffered, the gauze on his forehead from a nasty gash on his forehead, the right arm resting in a cast after being reattached and the bruises on his face that had yet to fully fade away. Her eyes shined with tears that had yet to be shed as she took in the plain boy's words.

"You did all that for no reward?" she said unbelievably.

Touma nodded absently, not seeing anything wrong with that.

"Pretty much. I mean, why would I want anything in return? I saved you because it was the right thing to do. As if I could just turn away from saving a girl who was in danger. I don't need a reason, nor a reward for saving someone. If anything, there is only one thing I would want in return for all the trouble." he said honestly as he kept his eyes on the miko girl. The simple smile on his face caused the girl to go red in the face as her heart sped up.

What could anyone want in return for risking their life for a stranger? What unimaginable reward could they possibly ask for?

"All I ask for is a smile. An honest to god smile that you can hold onto with your own hands from now on. That's all I could ever possibly ask for."

Himegami's eyes went wide in disbelief. That's all he asked for? No money, no acknowledgment for his efforts, nothing to flaunt or satisfy his own needs? Just what kind of reward was that? Kamijou Touma deserved nothing but riches for not only saving her, but stopping a man who could bend the world to his beliefs. And all he wanted was an honest smile in return?

The wielder of Deep Blood wasn't sure how to respond to such a request. Her face only grew redder as he gave her his own smile in return. She could see it in his eyes. Truly he asked for nothing more. He did it out of the kindness in his heart because he honestly believed that no one should need a reason to save another. In this city of science were everything was dictated by reason and thought, he followed his own heart rather than his brain. It was such a simple yet unbelievable way of doing things.

And it made Himegami's own heart stir.

"All you want is a smile, huh?" A shy, happy expression came to life on Himegami's face. Why something as small as a smile was causing her to feel such nervousness confused her. Maybe because it would be in the face of the boy who had risked a literal limb for her. But she had to reward him for all that he had done for her. For saving her life twice and grating her freedom to live her life however she pleased.

Moving out of the corner, she faced the spiky haired boy with a smile slowly growing.

"There you go again! Don't think I didn't notice all those nurses outside in the halls whispering your name with giggles too! Just how many girls are you planning on dragging along to your charms!?"

"What the hell are you talking about!? What girls?! I-Index-san, please put down those deadly teeth of yours! Aren't nun's suppose to abstain from violence?! Wait, what's that in your chest? Has the world of science miraculously caused your chest size to gro-Sphinx? You're not allowed to sneak in animals into a hospita-OW! HE'S CLAWING MY FACE! WHY SPHINX, _WHY_?!"

Himegami's smile vanished as she couldn't help but mutely stare at the strange sight before her. It wasn't everyday that you witnessed a boy in a hospital bed being mauled by a small calico cat and a ferocious nun of the church all while screaming about misfortune.

It seemed that honest smile of hers would have to wait another day. Which was fine, she wasn't going anywhere. Not when she felt she owed her hero more than just a smile.

"I'm surprised Kamijou-san can endure such pain even after all that's he's gone through. I suppose the stories were true after all."

In the midst of his suffering at the hands of Index and her cat, Sphinx, the sound of newcomer brought Touma's attention back to Himegami. His eyes grew wide as dinner plates as he gazed at the stranger standing right behind the Deep Blood wielder, his voice failing as he took in their appearance.

". . .Index?!"

Indeed, behind Himegami stood a near perfect duplicate of the silver haired nun on his lap. Just like Index, the girl wore the same white habit sans the bronze safety pins that held it together and possessed the same shade of green eyes as the nun. But that's actually where the difference could be stopped. While the girl did have just about the same length of hair as Index, her hair was black, not silver-blue. She was a few inches than Index as well and her. . .bust size being more notable. Nothing overly impressive, but enough to tell that she was not as young as her lookalike. And than their were her eyes and skin tone.

Strangely enough, the stranger shared the same skin tone as Touma. That, and her eyes were rather lax and sharp, unlike the innocent eyes Index had.

The stranger smiled politely at Touma. Something about her smile though caused him to frown internally. It seemed strained, as if she was holding back some greater emotion.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kamijou-san." The new nun bowed.

Blushing in embarrassment for his small outburst, Touma waved at the black haired nun.

"Its's nice to meet you too. . ." Touma trailed off weakly.

"Angela!" Index answered in the girl's place, looking to her fellow pious nun in confusion, "What are you doing here? I thought you would stay back in the dorm until we got home?"

"Wait. . .what was that? JUST HOW MANY FREELOADERS ARE YOU INVITING INTO MY DORM!?"

"Well I had to invite her over too! She didn't have anywhere else to go and it would be a sin against God to turn a nun away to the dirty streets of a godless city! Besides, she's the one who made sure your arm was brought back safely and in one piece. If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't have a right arm!"

That piece of information caught Touma off guard. His eyes returned to the politely in wait raven haired nun who made no sign of being offended by the freeloader comment. If anything her lips did twitch in amusement.

"You. . .carried my arm back?" Touma asked slowly with a face twisted in guilt.

The complete stranger who he had never met before, possibly, was the one to carry his bloody dismembered arm to the hospital? Why? Was she one of the students that had been saved from Aureoles's manipulations? A long lost friend he had forgotten with his memory loss? Why would anyone go through with the sickening task of holding onto a blood limb of some random stranger?

Angela didn't seem to see anything wrong with that, tilting her head as she answered politely.

"Of course. I could not have left your arm behind to grow cold. It would have pained me greatly if you were to lose your arm after saving a fellow maiden." she answered simply before smiling brightly.

"If someone was in need of help, why wouldn't I lend a hand?"

Such a simple answer stumped Touma. It was strange to be on the other end of an answer like his own.

"Well, thanks." Touma said awkwardly, not sure what else to say for such a kind gesture. A puzzled frown did make its way to his face though, "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, especially after you helped me out, but who are you? I don't think we've ever met?" he asked nervously.

For just a second, an emotion flitted by Angela's face. One that for some reason twisted his insides in guilt. But why?

Resting her hand on her modest chest, Angela answered kindly.

"I suppose an introduction is in order. My name is Angela, newly minted member of Necessarius of the English Puritan Church of England. Again, it's truly a pleasure to met you, Kamijou-san."

A member of Necessarius? The same group of magicians Stiyl was a part of that created the Collar to erase Index's memories every year? While Kamijou did lose his memories on August 28, Stiyl did give him a run down of what exactly he had done to save Index. If it wasn't for Touma's Imagine Breaker, the sweet nun would have lost all the memories she had gathered again out of fear of those who watched over her. He couldn't help but grow weary of the nun and what her presence could spell for them.

Not noticing Touma's weariness, Index smiled brightly at Angela.

"Angela's a representative of the English Puritan Church that was sent over to watch over me and help continue my training as a nun! Apparently she had arrived a few days ago but got lost in the city. She wound up finding me while I was searching for you a day ago and followed after me when I was kidnapped. Since then, she's been staying in our dorm, cooking in your place, keeping Sphinx from scratching the walls, washed and dried the laundry, and made sure sure the dorm's kept in good shape!"

Touma was again stumped. He knew nothing of the girl known as Angela, and he had every right to distrust her since she was part of the church that used Index as some forbidden library, but he grew thankful of the more mature nun taking care of Index. Not only had she saved his arm, but also took care of the two most precious things in his life: his dorm and Index. A bright smile began to form on his face.

"Oh, that reminds me, Kamijou-san." Angela interrupted flatly, stopping Touma as she withdrew a very familiar wallet from her person. The ebony nun flipped it open, fanning its empty contents out as she continued, "I'm afraid we no longer have any funds to make use of. Index-chan's appetite was more ferocious than I expected and we went through the last of your funds on breakfast this morning. Your fridge has also become barren like the waste of a middle eastern desert. And your money card has also been emptied completely."

"GIVE IT BACK! GIVE ME BACK THE GRATITUDE I JUST FELT! AT LEAST SHOW THAT YOU FELL SORRY FOR SPENDING ALL MY YEN! HOW DID YOU EVEN SPEND ALL THE YEN IN MY ACCOUNT!?"

Angela crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her chin as she began to explain the useless money card.

"Well, when I went out this morning to buy more groceries, I ran into this poor sweet Child Error that was staring off sadly at a stuffed bear in a shop. I felt so bad, I went in and bought him the toy. Than after earning a hug from the happy, adorable child, I noticed a man who's car had broken down with a flat tire. Naturally, I decided to run off to the nearest auto-shop to buy him a new tire since he lacked a replacement. When I came back, I also noticed a young couple eating out in restaurant patio, unable to pay for their meals since they both forgot their wallets. After handing the man his new tire, I covered their meals without a thought. While doing so, the waitress on staff accidentally slipped on an ice cube, breaking all the glasses on hand. Not wanting her pay to be caught, I paid the manager the cost of the damages. Once I was done there, I left back to buy groceries and passed by a fountain by the park. Wishing for luck and grace from God, I dispensed a few notes, exchanged them for change while buying ice cream for a group of children, and tossed a thousand yen's worth of change for good fortune."

Touma was left gaping at the very long explanation, his expression twitching as the very kind ebony nun continued expressing lack of regret for her various deeds. Angela's thoughtful expression grew lax as she shrugged.

"I don't know how, but by the time I reached the market, I was down to only a thousand yen."

"THE HELL YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW?! THE WORST PART IS, I CAN'T EVEN BE COMPLETELY PISSED OFF FOR ALL THE GOOD YOU DID FOR COMPLETE STRANGERS! WAIT, WHY THE HELL DID YOU WASTE SO MUCH YEN TOSSING COINS IN FOUNTAIN!? YOU'RE JUST WASTING MONEY TO A GOD WHO WON'T EVEN PITY THIS POOR KAMIJOU!"

How did the nun even know how to use his money card? That was the more important question on his mind. Did she use some kind of magic to find out his pin or something?

Making her presence known again, Himegami stepped beside Angela with a sigh.

"I tried to stop her, but she kept insisting on helping those less fortunate and to never turn a blind eye to misfortune. She can be very stubborn."

With a dragged out sigh of defeat, the unfortunate Touma fell back to his bed. What more could he say? From what little he just learned, it seemed Angela was a good Samaritan, always going out of her way to help others in need. He had to admit, he liked that. Knowing that there were others out there who wouldn't turn a blind eye to those in trouble filled him with hope. He just wished the ebony nun hadn't used what little yen he had to help others. Now he was broke. He was still too injured and tired to be dealing with this right now.

"So, I'm guessing you'll be staying with Index for the remainder of your post?" Touma asked tiredly, getting a nod back from Angela.

"While you are her guardian within Academy City, the church thought it would be wise to have someone to assist and continue her teachings of god. She's not an official nun after all. If anything with the way she's dressed it's more like. . ."

"She's cosplaying?"

Angela snapped her finger's with a smile.

"Exactly!"

"What's cosplaying?" Index asked Himegami.

The miko girl, who was far from an actual miko herself, simply shrugged.

Clearly she was asking the wrong person.

"And there's nothing I can do or say to make you go back to London, is there?" Touma had to ask. He didn't want to be rude, that was the last thing on his mind, but he wasn't sure he could house three people in his dorm. And a cat.

"I'm afraid not! As long as Index-chan is here, I will be too!" Angela answered happily.

Two nuns, a miko, and a calico cat. How anyone would not notice them in his small dorm that should have only enough space for one unfortunate high school boy, he would never know. Little he could do to change that. As with everything in his very short life, which composed of two weeks of memories, he was just going to have to accept it. Though maybe he could see if Komoe-sensie could help him out. He was going to have to make a call later.

Shutting his eyes, Touma contemplated his ill fortune before he heard footsteps grow closer to him. He opened one of his eyes to find Angela by his bedside, her face coming extremely close to his own. He couldn't help but blush deeply as he found the ebony nun's green eyes staring directly into his. He would have shouted at the girl to get out of his face, lecturing her for her odd behavior and respecting the sacred privilege that was personal space, but found his words dying on his lips.

The expression on Angela's face was warm, incredibly warm. He could swear her eyes glistened with tears. She just looked so. . .happy.

"I'm sorry for the burden of my presence, but I hope we can get along from here on out. I'd love nothing more than to become a dear friend of yours, Kamijou-san!"

Touma looked away for a moment, not sure what he could say to such a beautiful and honest expression on Angela's face. They were strangers to another, yet she was willing to bear her own feelings so casually already. Apparently all she wanted to do was watch over Index, it was her job from what he could tell. So, why bother wishing to be his friend?

The girl, Angela, was a strange one. But he couldn't find anything wrong with that. In the end, Touma smiled back at the girl and offered his left hand. Angela looked puzzled at the gesture, only causing his smile to widen in amusement.

"It's Touma, Kamijou Touma. There's no need for honorifics with this Kamijou, I've never been one for those kind of things. And if you simply want to be friends, than I can't exactly turn you down."

Angela found her gaze glued to the hand of the high school boy. The boy who was known as One Who Purifies God and Slays Demons. The Invisible Demon. The One Superior to God. Imagine Breaker. Enemy of Magic. And The God of Pestilence.

But to her, Kamijou Touma was known as only one thing.

 _'. . .Papa.'_

The hand reaching out to her had been lost in a future without its Hero. The Wandering Savior, Vagabond of Misfortune, Breaker, The Hero, The Antithesis, and The One Above All. The hand, whether it be the right or left, held so many names to it. But she would only ever recognize it as the hand that had on few occasions held her own protectively with love and care in their grip.

Slowly, her own hand reached Touma's and clasped onto it for dear life. Her grip loosened quickly before the boy could notice, her eyes shutting as her smile grew brighter.

Angela would have loved nothing more than to do more than hug him. She would have loved to recreate an old memory, one of a smaller ebony nun being spun around in those strong arms before being brought in for the tightest hug she had ever felt. The memory would have been complete with the second set of arms wrapping around them, her mother sneaking in for a hug of her own. But for now, this would have to do.

To reveal to not just Touma, but Index, who she really was would cause more problems then solve them. This wasn't a story where a child from the future drops into the lives of their parents, revealing to them they are their child to the ensuing mischief and zanny antics of the child making the two parents come to together. Such a thing could only be found in manga. And knowing her father's misfortune, she would only be putting more stress on his heavy shoulders. That was the last thing she wished for. No, for as long as possible, she must keep the secret close to her heart.

At least until the day Kamijou Touma could shatter the illusions that devoured her future. And the futures of many others who desired to be in her position.

In the hospital room that would soon be officially dubbed The Kamijou Ward in the coming months to come, the four individuals fell into idle conversations. None the wiser to the tomorrows that would follow the next day. All that mattered in that moment was the pleasant company between them. And the bonds that would be planted to hopefully sprout into a promising future. Even for one unfortunate high school boy.

* * *

"You fucking little-"

In the dark alleys of Academy City, several flashes of azure light illuminated one of the corners of the underbelly of the city of science. Shouts of pain, anger, and surprise bounced off the walls as sparks crawled along the air. Busting through several trashcans, a leather black thug smacked against a dead end with a hoarse shout from his bloody lips. His body slid down against the cracked wall to sit on the foul pile of bio hazardous filth stored in the metal containers. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he searched around the alley for his comrades.

To his frustration, his fellow Skill-Out's were strewn about the alley with their own wounds. Smoke wafted from their still sparking bodies, beaten down like dolls by a tantrum of a child. What they had believed to be just some random Esper had turned out to be a monster. One that wasn't afraid of showing them who was beneath them.

Still, that didn't mean this particular thug would go down so easily. Reaching into the inner pocket of his leather jacket, the thug brought the small handgun he kept hidden and fired at his enemy.

But before the bullet could exit the chamber of his gun, a small streaking spark of electricity slithered towards his weapon. A frenzy of sparks then malfunctioned his fire arm, rendering it useless along with erupting into a small explosion in his hand. Shrapnel dug into his left hand from the material, digging deep into the skin. Blood quickly spilled out his trembling hand, painting the ground red as he screamed.

"GOD DAMN IT! W-WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!? ARRRGGHHH!"

"Hmm? What, don't tell me you attacked an Esper without even taking into consideration what their ability could be? That's just poor planning. It's no wonder you Skill-Out punks are a dying breed. At least have some sense in picking up on your target's ability." a bored voice taunted with echoing footsteps.

Flinching one eye from the bloody mess his hand had become, the thug stared up at the Esper at the cause of the mess. The boy wasn't any older than he was when he became a Skill-Out, appearing to be about fifteen years old. The boy had chestnut brown hair that reached his neck with his forehead's bangs parted to the side, leaving only a stray strand to fall down the middle. He wore a light cream brown vest over a button up white shirt, dark dress pants and dress shoes. Other than his hair, he didn't look any different than your average rich boy.

But those dark blue eyes of his, sharp and cocky, never once showing a sign of fear or nervousness when jumped by seven thugs in the alley he passed into. The unfortunate thug was starting to believe that it was all part of the rich boy's plan.

The plain rich boy smirked down at the cowering thug. He smoothed back the hair falling over his forehead, seeming to comb sparks along his hair. All but a single strand went back as his hand trailed with small bolts of deadly electricity.

"If something like a computer is overloaded with power, it overheats. Your little handgun there is built with a mini computer, nothing overly powerful, but very helpful in targeting. With it, even an idiot can hit a bull's eye with one shot. But if said little mini computer found itself overloaded by, oh, say the abilities of a Level-4 Electromaster, than not only would it overheat, but detonate like a grenade. And something like that is easily within my power."

The thug sneered up at the Esper. Even if he was at the boy's mercy, he would not tolerate being looked down like some piece of trash. It was the sole reason he had joined Skill-Out in the first place. The boy made a mistake thinking he was just going to lie there. A small knife slid out his sleeve, ready to plunge into the boy's chest with one thrust.

A dress shoe planted itself onto the thug's face before he could make the fatal move. And to his horror, the hidden blade flew out of his hands to stick to the rich boy's open hand. Sparks bounced around the fine metal of the knife.

"Just so you know, you brought this onto yourself. I was simply taking a nice walk around the city, planning on how to met up with my big family I only just met, and how to finally speak with my no good bum of an idiot father. But than I had to find a couple of thugs up to no good. That's fine though, at least I've found something to take my frustrations out on now."

Electricity moved along the leg stepping on the thug's face, warning him that it would all be over. The thug wasn't even given a chance to scream before his body was lite up like a lightning rod, scorching his skin until he had passed out from the pain. His limp body fell back into the trash around him, left to groan with the rest of his comrades.

Hana Mikoto sighed as he relaxed his stiff shoulders. He gave the beaten thugs an annoyed pass before turning back to exit the alley. Before stepping out though, he glanced back into the alley, finding a sniffling middle schooled girl standing against the wall by the fried thug. He sighed.

"You should get going. It's not safe for cute girls to be walking by themselves out here." Hana said warmly.

The middle school girl quickly nodded, smiling gratefully to her hero before running out of the alley hastily. With an old habit he picked up from his lousy father, Hana scratched the back of his head.

"Tch, bunch of jack asses. As if my temper wasn't already sour, I got to deal with a bunch of idiots who think they can just abuse a girl just because she has an ability. To think there's an actual gang of thugs who go around harassing and abusing those with a level higher than zero. It's all that no good bastard's fault."

Kamijou Touma was regarded as the greatest hero the world had ever known in his time. A man who would answer to anyone who would call out for help when there was no one to save them. Somehow, someway, that man would charge in with only his fist and save the day of whoever stood behind to stare at his strong back. All anyone had to do was call out for help. The hero would surely save them.

But where was that hero when one girl found herself at the hands of cruel powerless thugs? When that single girl had cried out for someone to save her, the hero was absent. The so called hero had failed to save a single girl. Since no one else bothered to help, it was up to Hana to step in to take care of that lazy bum's responsibilities. Just as he had to when that idiot passed away and left the world's safety to one of his sons who didn't wish for the burden.

A sneer slowly formed on the future boy's face, something completely unlike him. As he went about his way in a city he was all too familiar with, but still aliened to, he couldn't help his thoughts falling onto a certain boy with a streak of bad luck. His lips twisted as a growl escaped his lips.

"Some hero you turned out to be. Guess I'll just have to do what you never did and take action."

Unknown to the Esper, an odd dark energy blinked around his iris's.

* * *

 _ **You are just a boy. A boy burdened with nothing but ill fortune. Yet you seek nothing but a simple life without riches, fame, or prosperity. The only wish that one, with no memories of his past and living the life of a dead boy, asks is for a normal life.**_

 _ **But you will come to do so much for this world. And mean so much to that world. In your death, you've left a world without a savior. And that world wishes to correct that unhappy ending.**_

 _ **A new story is born from the remains of a burning future in the present that was the past. Little do you know just how bizarre your life will become and the unbelievable adventures you are to go on.**_

 **And so the prologue to our new story is complete! From here on out, we embark on a new adventure and a completely new Arc to the story. I've already got the ending in the works with four chapters already done and awaiting editing and final touch ups. So, how about we get a summary for the new Arc?**

 _ **Zeroes War.**_

 _It had started out as a nice breakfast after his bathtub's faucet had been broken. Than he had spilled water on a blonde girl who chased him out with kitchen knives. Which lead into being dragged by Angela to visit some Child Errors in District 13._

 _Que a certain Kamijou's misfortune and war between Zeroes breaks out in the streets of District 10, with a certain Imagine Breaker caught in the middle._

 _A war between those who call themselves Skill-Outs and those who bare the name for their own misuse has begun in the ignored streets of a certain district full of delinquents._ _A phantom from a past Touma no longer recalls lingers at his back in the ensuing war._ _All while a certain individual seeks to steal a certain weapon locked away that would give even a Zero the power to trample a Level-5. A fight for survival and for the answer to a very important question: What is a Level-0 capable of in a world controlled by monsters known as Level-5s?_

 _No Abilities. No Magic. No Supernatural phenomenon. Just how will Imagine Breaker fight when it's power over even gods is rendered useless? All this misfortune just because he had seen Angela's panties._

 **Get ready for the new Arc! I had a whole lot of fun with this one, so I hope you enjoy it once we go in. Of course, we will get some future kids in on the action as we introduce another one in the midst. As we go on with each Arc, more and more of the kids will pop up and alter the story. How? One can only speculate. As for the kids identities and who their mothers are, you'll have to wait and see. I know I have my favorites that I can't introduce just yet and can't wait to show ya's!**

 **That's all for now though. Just to let ya'll know, my updates can be a bit bizarre. But once I've completed the next chapter, edit it, touch up the rough patches, and got my other stories updated next, I'll be sure to update and get the ball rolling! All good things come to those who wait after all.**

 **Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	3. Walks of Life

**NeoShadows here and back with the next chapter of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps. Or ACIOTTM for short.**

 **Apologies for the long wait. Well, not long when compared to my other stories really. Not that I'm not working on my other projects, just feel like I shouldn't upload them until I've had a few more chapters finished like this one. That way I'm not gone for a very long time again. Anyway, we're back with the next chapter that begins the original Arc leading to The Sisters Arc. Many changes will occur to effect what will happen to the story that we know because of the sudden new introduction of individuals that should not yet exist. This Arc, Zeroes War, will lead to new changes to the city among changing what is meant to be. Ah, I'm so excited to just dive on in!**

 **First, let's dive in on the reviews.**

 **Animan10: Yeah, I wanted to slowly reveal each future child to the readers as we went along. I know for each Arc I have certain children revealed that fit in with the plot. It'll get even more fun as they're all brought out and start interacting with the others. Dare I say that we may even see the next generation of the Delta Force at some point? Ah, right, the naming of Mikoto Hana. I-I-I'm still smacking my face for the damn mistake. Forgive me for that, I should really do better in editing my final draft. It was a mistake, make no doubt about it. By the time you read this, I will have already fixed the typo.**

 **BlueJack22: Really? I thought I made it kinda obvious. Eh, a twist is a twist no matter the view point. I'll take it!**

 **Fortitude501: . . .Ya say that as if it's a bad thing. I happen to like chaos.**

 **DeoV: I'll try to upload as quickly as possible. I generally upload a new chapter after completing another until I reach the end of the Arc. Once I reach the end, chapters will come out quicker. I do have about two more chapters to go, so be a little patient and you'll get them all in no time. As for Hana's name, yeah, typo. I'll be fixing that. Ah, I also loved that quote Angela had said. Goes to show how her father effected her and her way of living. And I'll do my best to watch out for those errors and do more proof reading.**

 **Nguyen Thanh Long: Yup, yup! All those kids were Touma's sons and daughters! I don't want to give away how many are being sent back, but you can't count 'em with two hands. Though I will be adding a few children that aren't from Touma. Need I say more as too who the others belong to? A Harem Ending! But not in the way you would expect. Not all of them are so bright and cheery. As for the white haired girl in the beginning. . .**

 ***Author-San spit takes with laughter before falling back his seat with a roar of maniacal laughter***

 **Oooooooh~! What misfortune! That's all I'll say.**

 **WilliamZ0: Yeah, I know about the family name typo. Still. Smacking. My. Self. For That! As for the changing of canon events, it's going to happen. But the essential parts to them that build character will still be there, just not in the original way they had played out. All those arcs you mentioned are already being planned out carefully. I won't spoil anything as to how things will change, so you'll have to wait and see. And there are reasons for why Hana is currently acting the way he is, that's all I'll say. As for Secretary-chan. . .I have no words.**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: Busy, huh? You and me both, my friend. I'll be sure to tell you in my next PM. We'll be getting more kids in the next coming arcs, so watch out for them. Now we head into a new chapter full of action, suspense, and thrill! And I know, I messed up with Hana's name. I bring shame to my corner of the site. SHAME!**

 **Thewooki1: The story that lead to Touma's future life. . .is. . .is one that would take some time to tell. And what a story. Let's just say. . .nothing ever has a truly happy ending, especially for one who is basked in eternal misfortune. Of course some of the children will understand that situation that lead to them having so many other half siblings, but others won't be as happy. Hana is a unique case at the moment. You'll see why as the arc unfolds along with the next one to come. Oh, you're going to love the Sisters once we reach them.**

 **And there we are for reviews. I got more to say at the end, so let's make our way there as we enjoy the chapter! Get to scrolling!**

* * *

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved by Kazuma Kamachi. Poor Kamijou, constantly on a budget and feeding bottomless pits. I am the same. Constantly on a budget and feeding mouths who demand more. At least the lucky bastards deals with a cute nun! The fuck is my cute nun!?_**

 ** _. . .Why are there red and blue lights outside my window? Oh sweet Jesus! Not again, not in this sect! God damn Chris Hanseen wannabees! I meant a cute older nun, not an underage loli! I swear this tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!_**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Walks of Life.**

 **Kamijou's_Law.**

How long had it been? When was the last time Angela could recall waking up in bed with her mother close to her, snuggling her for warmth, stroking her hair softly while mumbling nonsense involving mountains of delicious food? Far too long for the ebony time traveler's liking. It was funny when she thought about it, how she had taken something so simple for granted in her original timeline. She had never thought much of those times until they were gone. After all, she wasn't a little girl anymore. Those time were behind her.

Gone in a hellfire of brimstone and the silhouette of a Magic God's wave of a hand.

The images of hell on earth were buried back into the deep corners of Angela's mind as she nuzzled back into Index's arms. The ebony nun giggled at the position they were in. Even though she was older than the silver haired nun by two years, she was still snuggled up against the smaller girl. Index didn't protest the first night, finding it cute and comforting with a bed buddy next to her. It would have been better if Touma had relented and joined along to sleep with the two nuns in bed, but he kept protesting furiously with a deep blush on his face. He kept going on about messing with the delicate emotions of a healthy teenage high school boy. Going on the third day since she fell into the past, Index still didn't say anything about the strange arrangement they had. She only continued to hug her unknown future daughter closer in her sleep with a content sigh like Angela was some treasured stuffed bear.

After being apart from her mother for so long, all Angela wanted to do was continue this morning routine. She deserved this much. It had been almost a week since she had last seen her mother in her original form, so she was perfectly content with cuddling her mother's younger self. But nature was a calling. With a disgruntled grumble, she peeled off Index's arms and stepped off to head to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. She rubbed the sandman's crust from her eyes with a yawn and answered the call. With that over with, she flushed and sleepily moved to wash up at the bathroom sink, her mind wandering to her current situation.

It had been four days since Angela had arrived to Academy City. Not the Academy City she had briefly known of in thanks to her visits alongside her mother to visit some friends. Nor was it the Academy City that had been reduced to a massive gaping hole in the ground due to a Magic God of senseless destruction. No, it was Academy City, twenty years in the past, about sixteen years before she was even born. Through unimaginable means that still confounded her and went against both physics and magic, Angela had traveled to the past alongside a few other of her. . .siblings.

You know, the whole time traveling thing had thrown her for a loop, there was no denying that. But what truly still stuck out to her was the fact that she had been an only child once. Her mother and father never mentioned the little important mind blowing fact that she had brothers and sisters. And that they did not share the same mother. And that her father was unfaithful, even though said father wasn't married to her mother. All of which left her with more siblings than she could count on both hands! In the words of her newly christened older brother, Kaen. . .her father was a manwhore. Coming from a nun, that said something.

Through an ancient spell created by several Magic Gods that were long forgotten, the BREAKERS had hijacked the spell The God of Ruin had re-created from his control of the Phases. It had been tricky to trap the the Magic God and it was only in thanks to the vast knowledge of her mother's grimoires alongside a few other of the parents of her siblings that they had stopped the god from going through with his plans with the past. Somehow without the help of their hero who had passed away, they had created a miracle. And through that miracle they had gone to the past to save their future from being ruined by the hands of a monster.

Now Angela walked the same streets both her mother and father had once walked alongside each other in their younger days. As did her brothers and sisters. There only came one problem. Well, two.

Angela had no idea where any of her new brothers and sisters were. The spell that had sent them back was completely unknown to her. Her mother had gone into short detail using the vast library of forbidden texts in her head, the most important of the spell being that it was impossible for the older generation to enter. If two of the same people were to exist in the same timeline, paradoxes would arise and completely destroy both past and future. The younger generation would be safe without any threat to the timeline, seeing as they didn't exist in the past. Though while the spell would send them back, it wasn't exactly accurate as to where they would land. They sadly didn't have much time to discuss the finer details of the spell since they had to jump the Magic God right in the middle of Index's explanation. For all Angela knew, a few of her siblings could be across the globe due to their connection with their mother's playing a role with their drop off.

Just how far did her father's unfaithful ways reach?

The second, and probably the most important of the matters, was just how the BREAKERS would stop the Magic God from his plans. No one knew the true identity of the god, all that they knew was the person was once human and would reach the title of Magic God in the future. The plan to take down the God of Ruin laid in the great minds of two of her siblings, but they hadn't been able to say anything on how, saving discussion on their strategy for when they all met up in the past. Again, she had no idea where either one could be.

Angela sighed as she turned off the running water and dried her face with a blue wash cloth. Unlike her mother, she wasn't a strategist. Her mother was a woman of vast and almost infinite knowledge of both magic, and after years of residing in Academy city, science. It was said she could perform calculations that could match a certain white haired Esper who could perform the calculations of god. The silver haired nun who would one day become the Archbishop of the English Puritan Church was cunning, intelligent, witty, and sharp of mind. The ebony nun suddenly giggled when she compared her mother of the future with the current Index. It was funny to think that the cute, adorable silver girl would one day turn into a terrifying strategist.

Well, there was one plan a few of them had in mind. And it involved their father.

Kamijou Touma was known as many things, gaining numerous title from his exploits that have yet to come. The Breaker, The Unofficial Scorer, The Wandering Savior, The Dragon King, Antithesis, The Great Exorcist, Enemy of God, The One Above Fate. And his most famous of all title, He Who Purifies God and Slays Demons. In all the corners of the world, you would hear rumors of some random man who came in swinging his tightly clenched fist in times of dire need to protect whoever stood behind his broad back. The man was a complete stranger, knowing little to nothing about the situation he found himself butting into or the language of the land. All that mattered to that man was that whoever he was protecting was crying, pleading for someone, anyone, to save them. Kamijou Touma was that someone, seeming to find himself always at the face of trouble and disasters. Just so he could protect those in need.

Said man was strong, undoubtedly so. Years and years of countless battles with unique and dangerous enemies had gained him many skills and tricks to combat against the vast tiers of strength in both Magic and Science. It was said that Touma had gained a perfected form of Precognition. Not through a blessing of god or through scientific means, but naturally from all the battles he had found himself in. It was so fined tuned, he could avoid a sniper's bullet from miles away without even noticing the shot was ever fired. Along with eventually learning how to properly fight from various forms of martial arts, he had also learned to unlock the Imagine Breaker's full potential. And even control some unseen force that made those how could see its image pale with primal fear.

It was no wonder her father had been renowned as the strongest human on the planet by several godly powerful forces.

But that was the Kamijou Touma of the future. At the moment, her father was nothing more than a high school boy who came off more as a delinquent than a hero. So, the idea was that their young father could be built up, he could become even stronger than what he had been in their time. With more experience, he could even defeat the Magic God who had finally brought him down when others had failed. If their father had been just a little bit stronger, than he would have surely won! That was the belief of many like her. There was no doubt!

Touma was their father after all. He had to be the strongest.

At the thought of her father, Angela couldn't help but smile giddily. It had been a year since she had last seen her father in person. They had only talked over letters and phone calls with gifts being sent over to her on holidays and her birthday. Touma was a wanderer, spending his life on the road, saving others on different lands out of the goodness of his heart. He did not get paid for his exploits, nor did he ever demand to be repaid for even saving the world every once in a while. All he asked for was for the people he had saved to continue to smile. Angela never understood the details of why, but her father refused to remain in one place. When she had asked about it once, all she had gained was a strained grin and single puzzling answer.

 _'Because I owe it to them, for all the smiles I selfishly threw away.'_

Angela would have loved nothing more in the world than for her father to remain rooted next to her mother, to stay home and watch over her with a goofy smile on his face, and to parade her around the others as his faithful little nun. But her father was a hero, a hero to the world, to all those lost without anyone to protect them from the darkness of the world. As much as she wanted for her father to give up his heroic vagabond ways, she didn't have the heart to sacrifice the smiles of others for her own selfish wishes.

The smile on her face only continued to grow wider. But in this time, her father wasn't the hero of the entire world. He was just a teenager with no responsibilities! For once, she could enjoy her time with her father with no worries of him leaving for more than a year. The time she had lost was returned. And she would make sure to cherish every moment with her father.

"ANGELA-SAN!?"

Angela blinked, face spinning around for the rather loud shriek close by. Tilting her head, she found her father, Kamijou Touma, face beet read, staring at her with a stammering jaw. She giggled at the boy's funny expression.

"Good morning, Kamijou-san!"

"DON'T ACT SO CASUAL AFTER USING THE BATHROOM WITH A BOY SLEEPING ONLY A FEW SPACES AWAY! AND PUT SOME SHORTS ON!"

Touma had woken up to an odd sound in the morning. The sound of tinkling water that had roused him from his sleep to find his newest roommate leaning over the bathroom sink to wash her face. It was bad enough that the dark haired nun was using the bathroom while he was sleeping in the bathtub, but it was even worse at the view that greeted him. Unlike Index, Angela slept without her habit or pajamas, instead going to sleep in one of his shirt's instead. And that was all. Angela's simple white pantie rear stared back at him as the nun unknowingly flashed him.

"DAMN IT, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME!" Touma shouted in annoyance as he stood up from the tub.

Second, not the first! Touma would have understood the mishap happening yesterday with it being the first time he had gone to sleep in his tub since the Ars Magna incident. The older nun probably forgot that Touma slept in the tub to allow the three girls to sleep in his bed. Although Himegami no longer slept over since Komoe-Sensie took the miko girl to temporarily live with her. Still, after the lecture he had given the girl the first time this happened, he would have thought she would know better!

Angela seemed oblivious to the situation, only tapping her lip cutely.

"I apologize, Kamijou-san. Seems I forgot!"

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET?!" Touma shouted as he took a single step. He suddenly flinched, his foot seeming to step onto something before his entire world seemed to flip.

Angela watched in awe as her father slipped on a bar of soap that conveniently found itself in his way and caused him to slip. She winced when her father fell back into the tub, most likely hitting the back of his head on the tub's faucet. It had been a long time since she had last seen her father's terrible luck first hand. Knowing it was the famous Kamijou Touma brand of misfortune it didn't end there. Somehow the force of Touma's head bashing into the faucet caused it to break off. A torrent of cold water poured out onto the groaning high school boy, drowning him in alarmed gurgles. Funny as it was, Angela moved quickly to help her father out of the gush of water. Her poor father was soaked to the bone, lightly shivering from the frigid water that he had been drowning in. He was going to catch a cold like this. Without a second thought, she slipped the large shirt off her body and began to pull off Touma's wet shirt.

"W-Wait! What a-are you doing, Angela-san!?"

A normal person would have been upset after tripping on a bar of soap, let alone breaking their bathtub's faucet with their own skull. By now they should have been swearing a rivers worth of curses while clutching onto the large lump growing on their head. And if you were a pervert, you would have been ecstatic with a bloody nose that a shirtless nun was forcefully taking your shirt off. The sight of slightly tanned skin dripping with water down the a girl's almost nude slim body was an instant KO. But not Touma. All the boy could utter as he fought to take his shirt back from the giggling girl in now soaked underwear, and the door to the bathroom opening to reveal an aghast and now angry Index, was a simple two words.

"Such misfortune."

To Angela's discovery, her father's exaggerated stories of her mother's old habit of biting his head like some small dog weren't as far fetch as she believed.

* * *

It was a with tired sigh that Touma ended his conversation with the dorm manager over his cellphone. Not having the energy to go on anymore, he let his forehead met the surface of the dining table with a loud thud. The delicious aroma the breakfast made up of three pancakes, some scramble eggs, an english muffin and a sausage patty that would make anyone's mouth water wouldn't be of any help to rise his spirits. It only sunk him further into his seat.

"Index! You shouldn't be pouring such copious amounts of syrup on everything! Your ruining the flavor! Think of the cavities!"

"Aww, don't be such a food prude, Angela! I'm only making it sweeter!"

"Such a thing as pouring a gallon of syrup on eggs is a sin against God! It's pure gluttony!"

"Eh!? How could something so sweet be a sin!? Is this another test of my faith!? I-I don't think I'm strong enough to prove myself! I'm just a nun in training! This is advance level stuff!"

 _'The syrup be better complimentary! I've already had to spend over 3,000 yen for breakfast, I'm not spending anymore on syrup of all things!'_ Touma thought in frustration. If it was free, than it was free! No matter if they did drain them of all their pancake syrup. Or reserves in the back.

Once Touma was done clearing up the misunderstanding between himself and Angela to a chomp happy Index, the low income high school boy had no other choice but to take the two girls out for breakfast. With the water from the bathroom leaking out into the room, Touma had to make a request for repairs before the entire floor of the dorm building was flooded. Which also meant he couldn't make breakfast since he had to leave for inspection of the damage. Also to make sure that the dorm manager didn't see the two girls he was hiding in his dorm or the small calico cat. He could already hear Index's stomach snapping at him in hunger once they made it to the streets. Which brought them here after dropping off Sphinx with their neighbors.

Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant. A nice little cafe that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner through out the entire day after western cuisine. Seeing as it was the first restaurant to catch his eye, he decided to stop in to treat his dorm mates for breakfast while they waited for the faucet to be repaired. From what he was told, it wouldn't take more than a few hours to fix the damage good as new. And while he was strapped for cash right now, he did have just enough to go out for breakfast.

And only breakfast. Touma wasn't going to end up broke again after Angela's wasteful spending. Or charity work. At least this little outing would help him to get know more about his newest dorm mate.

Angela, a nun from the English Puritan Church of England, member of Necessarius, and caretaker of Index alongside Touma. For some reason, Touma had a knack for picking up freeloaders. First Index, than Sphinx, than Himegami, and now Angela. With his expenses he was sure he'd be living on the streets, begging for change to feed his freeloaders. Yes, it was true he didn't have to pay for board, but with another person to hide in his room, he was sure that what little fortune he had that allowed him to keep them hidden would run out and he would be kicked out. Or would it be more unfortunate for him to continue hiding his stowaways and struggle through feeding three mouths while constantly filled with anxiety that he would be caught at any moment?

He was leaning more towards the second.

Where was he again? Oh, right, the addition of his new roommate, Angela. Peeking up at said dark haired nun trying to dissuade Index from drowning her breakfast platter with another bottle of syrup, he found himself strangely drawn to the girl. It was odd. For some reason, he felt. . .something whenever he found his eyes glancing at her. An odd emotion he couldn't for the life of him describe accurately. Kinda like de ja vu. Like some part of the old Kamijou's soul was tethered to her. Could it be possible that he actually knew her? Touma did lose the memories of what made up the previous Kamijou Touma, leaving behind the current blank slate that was himself. An entire sixteen years gone when he woke up to a hospital bed.

It was entirely be possible that he had forgotten about several important people in his life. The first week of his life as Kamijou Touma, he had discovered his parents names! If they didn't send him an allowance, he would have never even known that he had parents at all. So much had been lost that summer day. And he still wasn't sure of what he had lost. Family, friends, dare he even say? A girlfriend!?

A hollow laugh escaped Touma's lips as a dark cloud fell over him. As if he would ever be so fortunate to have found a girl who would consider being his girlfriend with his misfortune.

A certain star eyed, honey blond girl suddenly blinked as the remote in her hand was broken in frustration. She wasn't sure why, but she was incredibly annoyed.

But it seemed that Angela wasn't someone from Touma's forgotten past. If she had been, she would have acted familiar with him, made references about things he no longer recalled, and joked about his usual string of bad luck that always reared its head. She never even mentioned that she knew of him other than what she heard from her superiors at the English Puritan Church. He was just Kamijou Touma, retainer of the Index of 103,000 Forbidden Books. No relation whatsoever.

Knowing that, he still couldn't find the reason why she seemed so at ease with him. A normal girl would be blushing at the fact that they would be living with a boy in a one room dorm, especially a nun. Not to mention the few incidents like this morning that would make any girl slap him him because he was some kind of pervert. Angela didn't seem to mind. Unlike Index, she didn't bite him or harm him for some silly misunderstanding. It was almost as if she was familiar with his brand of misfortune.

Despite being strangers that had only known each other for a few days, she was already acting like she had been friends with him since childhood.

"Kamijou-san, stop your sulking. If you don't finish your meal, than Index is going to be begging to finish it for you! And your still a growing young man who needs all his energy!"

With his eyes now following Angela's wagging finger, Touma grumbled under his breath at the lecturing tone.

"This poor Kamijou isn't sure he has the strength to eat anymore. Knowing my luck, the first bite will end with me choking, flailing my arms around in panic, knocking out the plates from a waitress's hands as she passes by, which would soak her see through uniform, catching my eye, labeling me as a pervert, and end with a slap to the face and another bill to pay above our breakfast." Touma said sourly, "Plus tip."

"Do you truly believe that?" Angela said unsure.

"This would be the third time this month." Technically in the past two weeks since he had only been Kamijou Touma for that long. He was sure though he still wouldn't be wrong.

"Does that mean I can eat-"

"Index, no. I know you have a large appetite, but Kamijou-san has to eat too! How else will he grow up big and strong to defeat a demon god!"

Touma quirked a brow at the huffing older nun who now sported an embarrassed blush, "Defeat a demon god? Heh, and I thought Index had a wild imagination. Don't tell me that you've been watching that magical girl anime with her too." he chuckled dryly.

Angela looked away, not wanting them to see her embarrassment.

"Still, you should eat your breakfast. You need all your strength." she said softly.

Touma frowned, finding Angela's tone of voice vulnerable. From what he had learned of the more mature nun, she was a very caring person. Always looking out for the good of others. If there was any way she could make things better for anyone, be they friend or stranger, she would go out of her way to help them. Even a guy as miserable as Touma was someone she only wanted to help. The girl was a saint.

Sucking up his grumbling and talks of misfortune, Touma sat back up. He picked up his fork and went to eating his breakfast without anymore complaints, much to Angela's pleasure. She beamed, joining in with finishing her own plate of pancakes alongside her fellow nun and new friend.

 _'Angela-san really is caring. Guess I shouldn't think too much of it. I should count the scrap of luck I got that I have someone as kind as her helping me take care of Index.'_ Touma thought as he decided to enjoy his meal.

If he remembered right, classes would start up again soon. Even with Sphinx distracting Index at home, she could still go stir crazy as he went to his remedial classes. Having Angela around the dorm would help keep Index from going crazy from loneliness. He was worried about the little silver haired sister finally growing fed up with sitting in the dorm and decide to wander off into the big city of science. The last thing he wanted to see when staring off the window of his class was a nun being chased by a small army of cleaning robots. With Angela around, he would have one less thing to worry about. Finally some good fortune!

 _'. . .Which means I'm due for something going horribly wrong any moment now. That's just how this unlucky Kamijou's fortune goes.'_ The buttermilk pancakes were delicious, but that didn't stop Touma's face from grimacing.

Touma had come to understand the unlucky star he had been born under. Since the day he had woken up in a certain hospital with no memories, a nun with knowledge of over more than a thousand forbidden texts and a bottomless stomach, and a right arm that could nullify the supernatural, he had been slowly learning to adapt to his new life. No matter what he did during the day, he had come to expect some unfortunate outcome. Take what happened a few days ago. At first it had been a normal day with Index, walking the streets of Academy City to their leisure until he met up with a close friend he could no longer remember. That little meeting of friends had lead into going out for food, leaving him to pay for his no good blue haired friend and than meeting a girl dressed as some shrine maiden who had been stuffing herself silly with hamburgers.

Misfortune dictated that something would go wrong. And it did. Which was why he wound up fighting an alchemist who planned on turning Index into a vampire of all things. Said alchemist could also make anything he believed into reality with nothing but words. Also Touma had his right arm severed. And an invisible dragon flew out of his bloody socket that was his arm.

 _'What was it that Aogami called it? Murphy's Law? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. At this point I think they should change it to Touma's Law.'_ Mid chew, said law decided to strike. In Touma's chewing, one of his back teeth had found itself digging into the back of his tongue by accident. A slip of the tooth you could say. Once his back tooth pierced the soft fleshy buds of his tongue, Touma let out a cry of pain. The action caused the food he had been chewing to fall back into his throat, lodging itself there like a roadblock to the stomach.

Both Angela and Index bore witness to the malicious law that was Touma's Law. A law that dictated that if something could go wrong, _it_ will always go wrong. And if it can't go wrong, _it_ will always go wrong.

 _'Is papa a seer?'_ Is what Angela thought as she watched Touma flail his arms around in panic as he choked. The scene was playing out close to what her future father had described. In Touma's flailing, a he struck the tray of a passing waitress on her way to a waiting table, slapping the jug of water out of the tray to fly overhead in an arc. The jug miraculously held all of its contents without spilling a drop in its flight past the unlucky high school boy and waitress. Gravity demanded that it would fall and it did a second later, drenching the occupant of the booth right behind Touma's group.

"ACK! MY CAN OF SARDINES!"

The first thing to hit Touma was a thought.

 _'Can of sardines? Who eats canned food in a restaurant!?'_

The second was a crawling tingle of dread. He could hear the drenched patron stand up from their seat, still no doubt dripping with water, and make a turn around the booths to glare at the now bowing and apologizing waitress beside him. While Touma may have been the cause for the accident, it was still the waitresses responsibility to accept the consequences. His face scrunched up in shame while the soaking patron began going on a tirade.

"Basically, are you prepared to pay the consequences of ruining my only day off!? Not only did you ruin my breakfast, and my shirt, but you also spilled water all over my little sister's pancakes, you fucking idiot!"

God damn guilt! Why couldn't this poor simple Kamijou just enjoy a simple breakfast?! Was it really too much to ask?

Since it was his fault, Touma quickly got out on his feet to stand in the way of the angry guest shouting at the nervous and scared cute waitress. His hands were already clapped together in apology as he bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, but please don't blame the waitress! It's my fault that she dropped the water all over your booth. If you're going to blame someone, than blame me!"

"Oh? Okay than."

Touma should have expected it. But he was still surprised by the open hand slap to his face that sent him falling back with a shout. The waitress had already run off, most likely went to the back of the restaurant to hide from the angry guest that had just knocked down the spiky haired boy. Which left Touma laying back on the tiled floor with a groan as a long shadow descended onto him. Flinching from the pain, he looked up and blanched at the sight of a slender leg raised up high to descend upon him for a devastating heel drop to the face.

With his string of bad luck, Touma should have known better. And yet he found himself blurting out the first thing to come to mind in his current predicament.

"Pantyhose? Really?"

As a healthy teenager, he was disappointed. Disappointment though quickly turned into panic.

"In the end, you're basically dead!"

Moving quickly, Touma rolled out of the way of the heel drop that loudly crashed onto the space his head would have been. Even if he was only an amnesiac with almost a month's worth of memories in his head, he knew better than to stick around another second. Nothing but death flags would await him another second more.

"Index, Angela, I think it's time we left!"

Back already turned to his attacker, Touma ran straight for the door of the nice little restaurant as if it was the holy light at the end of a dark and terrifying tunnel. Something flew by his head. It was only as he reached for the door handle did he notice a fork embedded deeply into the frame. And that a few locks of his hair had been chopped off. His ear twitched, catching the sound of several objects cutting the air on a hot pursuit of their target.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

At the heels of his feet, Index and Angela followed behind the run away bad luck charm. The two nuns didn't question Touma's choice of action. Both seemed to understand that if he had the option of running away, he would take it in a heartbeat. And even though their breakfast was cut short, Index had taken the opportunity to scoop the last of Touma's breakfast into her mouth and ran out with a wide happy smile on her bulging cheeks.

Angela couldn't help but sigh on the way out. Something told her this was going to be a recurring scene in the future.

As the twin doors of the diner that now sported several cutlery utensils stabbing into the doors, the still furious and soaked guest found her eyes glaring past the door. Already she was ingraining the face of the bastard who was responsible for making her wet. But to her further anger she found his face rather plain with nothing overly eye catching other than his head of dark spiky hair.

"Essentially, you look like you're going to murder someone, Onee-chan."

Soaking wet, humiliated as now all the eyes of the patrons found themselves on her, and even worse her own little Fremea bearing witness to her in such a state, one Frenda Seivulun didn't deny her little sister's observation. A dark grin grew on her face as her left hand twitched and tickled the concealed missile heads underneath her pleated skirt. She flipped back her blonde locks with a growing sinister shine in her blue eyes that terrified all the patrons gazing at the scene in curiosity.

In the end, she would make that dull faced idiot pay. Oh, she would make sure of that the next time she caught his eye.

* * *

 **In Between The Lines-1.**

"Are you positive you have the information correct? May I remind you that we've only a small window of opportunity of finding the target. Chances like this do not come very often, especially with the pay off being so high."

In the decayed, worn out, and slowly falling part alley in the heart of District 10, a lone teenager could be seen leaning back against the wall of the alley. Her face was fair, not a blemish other than a beauty mark on her chin, pale blond hair that twirled at the ends and fell down to her shoulders. The teen girl in question stood out when one thought of the area that she currently resided in. Dressed in a high quality white blouse with a blue bow tie collar, blue and yellow pleated skirt that just barely reached her knees, blue stockings and sneakers, she seemed to be an unfortunate girl who had accidentally wandered into the dangerous waters of District 10. After all it was this district that was highly renown for being the home of the worthless yet dangerous band of delinquents known as Skill-Out. Home to thugs and criminals with no real power despite taking the Power Curriculum Program that birthed Espers to the world, it was common knowledge to anyone who lived in the city to steer clear of the district. Not even Anti-Skill bothered to patrol its streets.

A girl like her wandering the seedy streets was a perfect target for assault. Even if she was an Esper, those who resided in the district never traveled alone, choosing to stick together in large groups to overwhelm their targets with numbers. A simple Esper would fall prey to the snarling dogs that preyed on them for their gifts.

But the girl was not a simple Esper. In fact, she wasn't even a lowly Level 1. She was a Level 0 with no ability to speak of. Just like the many thugs who laid around her with bullet holes piercing their backs in a pool of their own blood.

One of the bodies groaned, catching the pale blond girl's attention. A skinhead thug rose his head up, his breath labored as blood ran down his chin in streaks. The thug glared hatefully at the girl and moved his mouth to speak.

"Y-You fucking b-b-bitch! Don't you know w-who's t-territory you've crossed!?" Even with all the bullets he had taken, the thug powered through as he spat at the surprised girl. He grinned, showing off his blood stained teeth, "Crossing us on our own home turf i-is declaring war! The boss won't take this laying down! He'll hunt you down and make y-"

 _ **BANG!**_

The loud bang silenced the thug's threat courtesy of a single bullet piercing his forehead. Blood, brain matter, and bits of bone flew out of the hole of the back of his head as he fell to join his fellow thugs in a pile of hole riddled grunts.

The pale blond girl didn't spare the now dead thug a glance, her attention focused solely on the burner phone on hand. The gun in her right hand, a Mark XIX Desert Eagle tapped lightly against her thigh as she continued her conversation over the phone.

"Is that so?To think that they hid such a thing in District 10 of all places. I would have never thought that such a weapon was concealed here of all places. It is a smart idea, I suppose. No one would think twice to check. Especially in some nuclear facility."

The pale blond girl hummed as the person on the other end responded. Her eyes grew narrow. She stopped tapping her gun.

". . .No, it doesn't matter in the end. That kind of outcome is exactly what we need if we want to go on undetected, so we'll still continue as discussed. The unnatural storm from a few days ago was a blessing in disguise. It allowed us the only chance to go through with finally showing those bastards up top what a bunch of lowly little zeroes are capable of when they decide to give themselves some value. And to do that, we just need a single key code."

Stepping off of the blood stained alleyway, the pale blond girl walked out into the streets of District 10 with a bright smile on her face. Her light green eyes were not so bright, holding nothing but contempt as she resumed her stroll on gang territory without a show of fear.

"Today is going to be a historical moment for Academy City. By the time it's all over, not even those high and mighty Level 5's will be able to look away from the mark that lowly Level 0's left on the city. And than everyone will come to understand just what those they've abandoned are truly capable of."

* * *

Touma hadn't expected much once they had left the diner a good hour ago. If anything, he had come to expect the soaked blonde haired girl to chase after him like a bull. Which would eventually lead to some random series of events that would leave him fighting against some thugs and another trip to the hospital. Misfortune dictated it so, and he was coming to understand that about his life. But what actually had come to happen was much different.

"District 13? Why would you want to go all the way over there?" Touma asked slowly as he tried to understand the request Angela had asked of him.

Currently, the unfortunate high school boy and two nuns were riding the tram train to the district in question. It was actually Touma's idea to take the tram to escape the wrath of the soaked girl, hoping to lose her before she got on. He hadn't really paid much attention to where the tram was going when they got on and just hoped it would take him as far away from the girl as possible. It was only when he looked around the mostly empty train and read the message above on the message board that he learned where the train would be stopping. It was on a path to District 13 which wouldn't take them long to get to on a regular city train.

But the one they had gotten on took a much longer route. A route that would take them through District 10.

District 10. Touma didn't know too much about the district, or of any of the other Districts since he lost his memories, but he wasn't completely stupid. He had heard the whispers and warnings of the rather infamous sector of Academy City. District 10 was known for being one of the most run down parts of the city despite being part of the most technological advance cities of the world. It was home to nuclear facilities, unethical experimental sites, and even the graveyard tower. It was also home to the organization of Level 0's who fought for their rights, Skill-Out.

In other words, gang territory.

In his past life before the destruction of the neurons in his brain responsible for his memories, Touma felt like he had dealt with their kind before. Just last week on his way back from picking up groceries, he had ran into a few punks harassing some girl, spouting stuff about levels and being underprivileged. He hadn't paid much of what they were saying any mind, choosing instead to butt in and save the girl from being harmed. Such heroics of course lead to being chased around the city by the thugs and their friends who had been hiding in the shadows. An hour later and he came home with a few bruises, covered in dirt and sweat, and lost whatever discount meat he had found on sale. Index hadn't been happy and immediately flew onto his head with every intent to munch down with a very painful bite to make up for the lost meal.

Knowing how the word of mouth from complete strangers wasn't exactly accurate, Touma couldn't judge the district since he had never been there. Maybe there were a few bad eggs in the case. But that didn't mean the entire case was bad. As a frugal man, Touma couldn't just turn a blind eye to the case, not when he could still find a few good ones to make something as simple as toast with egg. And besides, it wasn't like they would be staying too long there anyways. All they would do is wait for the next tram to arrive to take them to District 13.

The question again was why?

Unlike Touma who chose to stand and hold onto the railing of the train car, Angela and Index sat down next to another. Index sat back, patting her full stomach contently with a pleased grin on her face. Angela though had her eyes transfixed onto the passing scenery, glued to everything that passed her eye. Just like Index, she probably hadn't seen just how advance the city was and was in awe of it all.

"To visit the Child Errors of course! As a follower of god, it is my duty to help the needy and unfortunate. Especially the orphans who find themselves without anyone to watch over them." Angela said obviously without taking her eyes off the window.

Touma frowned in confusion, "Child Errors? I think I've heard of those before, right? Sounds familiar." Again, his memory loss was being a pain in the ass. He was pretty sure he would have known about the term since Angela, who was new to the city and knew nothing of how things worked, knew about it.

He was slacking. He should really take some time to learn more of the city he had lived in for who knows how long. Slips like that would definitely catch the eye of those who know of him and talked to him regularly. Like Aogami and Tsuchimikado.

Perking up suddenly, Index thankfully asked the question Touma was afraid to ask.

"What are Child Errors?"

Taking her eyes off the passing scenes, Angela began to explain with a lecturing tone to her future mother and father.

"Child Errors are children who were either abandoned in Academy City by their parents over seas, or children born within the city and abandoned. For reasons, these orphans were left all alone in the city and marked as Child Errors, desertions with no one to look after them. It's an unfortunate problem that happens every once in a while since those who have been abandoned are unable to leave the city once they've begun the Power Curriculum Program in fear of a country taking them to unravel the secrets to Espers." Hands falling on her lap, Angela appeared sad as she spoke of the Child Errors.

In the future, Child Errors weren't a problem anymore. Not since Academy City had risen once again after the events of a calamity spurn by a great and powerful demon and opened its border to the entire world. Orphans were still a thing, as they were in all cities, but they were no longer donned as errors. In fact the famous orphanage Asunaro Park had grown larger to benefit those poor children left abandoned in the city.

Things were much better. In the future that is. In the present though things couldn't be said the same. Like a few of her other siblings, she had studied a bit on the old state of Academy City. She had learned much and prepared herself for the journey in the past. And while it was true they were not to make any impacting changes to the past, and were only there to help their father and stop the god of ruin, that didn't mean she would just abandon her teachings as a daughter of god. She had a job to do after all. To help those unfortunate and down on their luck in this blessed world.

Touma found his hand gripping the railing tightly, to the point he was sure he almost dented the steel. That was just. . .wrong. How could someone in their right mind just abandon their child in a city on another country? How could anyone even call themselves a parent if they didn't care about their own kid to the point they would leave them stranded in a city with no money, no family, and no home? To think such people existed. Even worse was the term the city had come up for those poor kids. Child Errors? As if their was something wrong with them, labeling them as mistakes.

How could anyone be so cruel?

"District 13 houses kindergarten and elementary school facilities as well as children hospitals. Along with education, it's also known for its orphanages that take in those poor Child Errors. Asunaro Park is its most well known facility and does its best to take care of the orphans. It's actually where I want to stop at!" Angela remarked much more brightly as she clapped her hands together, "As a nun of the church of our lord and savior, it is my duty to aide those poor cast away lambs! And I've heard that Asunaro Park welcomes volunteers to help, even if it's something as small as playing with the children! And just the very thought of all those poor, cute and adorable children makes me want to just scoop them all up and hug them!" she gushed as she swayed in her seat. A prominent blush could be seen painted her face that rose a brow out of Touma.

 _'Please don't tell me she's one of those girls.'_ The last thing he needed was a shotacon in his dorm.

"So, you want to volunteer your time for a good cause? I guess that makes sense." Touma said as he stroked his chin, "You are a nun, so of course you would want to help the less fortunate. Even if it is in a city as godless as Academy City. I actually think is rather admirable of you. Not many others would sadly take the time to help others for no gain to themselves."

While Angela was a freeloader like Index, at least she wanted to do some good for others. Even if this wasn't her home, she just wanted to lend a hand to the needy. His eyes did narrow and turned over to Index.

"Why can't you be more like Angela-chan? You see this!?" he shouted as he pointed his finger at the surprised raven haired nun, "This is what a proper nun should act like! Stop and take a moment from gorging yourself on every food in sight, and take a lesson! What you see before you is a true and honest to god nun! Not some freeloader who lazes about like a damn cat!" he ranted.

Index gasped indignantly before her face grew a familiar warning frown. Already he could see her mouth opening and the deadly glint of gnawing teeth.

"Toooouuuummmaaa!"

Touma flinched back in fear. Damn, there he want running his mouth again.

"N-Now Index, there's no need to harm Kamijou-san! He simply means to say that you still have much to learn as a nun is all. And this would be a great start towards your training. That is why I'm here after all, to train you in the proper ways and manners of a nun!" Angela quickly defended Touma as she waved her hands around cautiously.

Index pouted stubbornly. True, while she was a nun in training, she did know very little on how to properly act like one. The most she knew was the knowledge of nun etiquette. But not the application. It was the same as reading a cook book in theory. Yes, she would perfectly memorize all that she read on the page such a cooking time, temperature setting, and ingredients. Actually putting all that she knew to work though was another matter. Knowing and doing were two different things.

Sighing, Index dejectedly sat back down. It was a habit at this point to bite her idiot. And it just felt weird to not bit him at this point. She kinda felt cheated.

"I guess it would be a good idea. This city does lack the love of god and his people. And it would be a great idea to spread his word too! Maybe we can even convert a few of them to Christianity!" Index said brightly, earning an eager nod from Angela.

"Yes! Those poor lambs are just waiting for someone to turn them towards god's light! I even have a bible with me that we can read to those adorable little lambs!"

Touma's eyes twitched as he watched the two nuns begin planning on converting the innocent orphans to their religion. Oh, this had to stop. Now.

"No! Stop it right now, okay! You are not going to try and convert a bunch of kids! I forbid it!"

"But Touma!" The two nuns whined as they found their plans halted by a heathen.

"Don't _'Touma!'_ me! This is the last place to go preaching about religion!" And the last thing he needed was an angry mob coming after him for trying to stuff religion down their throats.

"But those poor clueless, defenseless, adorable, and huggable lambs!"

"Stop right there! Just that expression on your face is enough to make me want to turn us around and go back home! I don't think it's a good idea to even let you around kids! We don't need Anti-Skill putting you on a list!"

"Oh?" Angela blinked, tilting her head to the side innocently, "What list? I mean no harm to those kids, at least not in the way you're thinking. I am a virtuous nun after all!" she huffed as she crossed her arms in offense, "I love children, that is true, but I can keep myself in check! Even if I do tend to go overboard with my hugs. And dote over them excessively. And have tried to take a few back home to raise as my own without the consent of the orphanage. And I may have a tendency to gush over them and step into their personal space to nuzzle them like puppies. But who doesn't?"

Right, this nun had a problem. She wasn't a shotacon, at least he hoped that was true, but she was a sucker for children. Possibly for anything remotely cute. He would only have to worry about her sneaking a lost child into their dorm to raise instead of a stray cat. Which was of course worse.

Angela couldn't help but giggle with a bright, radiant smile on her face as she watched her father scratch the back of his head in irritation. This was what she had missed. Spending time with both her mother and father without the fate of the world over their shoulders. Well, at least for the moment. It wouldn't be long until things started to get hectic in Academy City. Right now though was the calm before the storm and she was going to enjoy it to the fullest.

In the back of her mind, she did feel a bit guilty. Like her, many of her siblings wanted nothing more than to spend time with their father. Some had the misfortune of not even knowing him personally due to reasons. Others were a lot more complicated. And a few of them should never, under any circumstances to their father's innocence, be allowed to spend any amount of time with him alone. Ever.

She was positive though that they would all get their chances to met him and make up for lost time. If only she knew where they were.

In the meantime, she would content herself with having her father scold her for the silly things. Something she desperately had craved when she was much younger.

* * *

"How long is it going to take before the next train arrives?" Index whined as they sat outside the station for the next train to arrive.

It had been almost half an hour since they had been dropped off at District 10's train station. Unfortunately the one they rode on would return back to District 7, and they had already come this far, so they had to wait for the next one that would take them to District 13. According to the train schedule's board it would take another ten minutes at most for the next one leaving to the district in mind to arrive. And nearly half an hour had passed them by.

Touma frowned as he leaned back against the train schedule's board. It was taking longer than they had expected. He looked around their surroundings, noting the lack of people roaming the streets. In fact, he couldn't see anyone else but themselves. All that greeted him were the decaying streets and abandoned buildings everywhere. It was kinda ominous.

"Don't know. It should be here by now." Taking out his phone, Touma began to look up the train's schedule for any changes.

It didn't look like there were any changes. If anything, the site was saying that the train was running at its normal time. So, why wasn't it here? Maybe it was a glitch or something. Or the site hadn't been updated yet to let him know it was running late.

It was still inconvenient for them though. Touma sighed as be pocketed his phone and resigned himself to waiting. Not like they could do much else. It didn't look like their were any places they could stop at to kill some time, and with his luck the moment they left, the train would arrive and leave them.

So it was the waiting game for them until further notice.

"H-Help! Please, s-someone, anyone, _HELP_!"

Touma's eyes snapped wide open at the shout of panic and fear breaking up the silence. All three of them bore witness to the sight of a white lab suited man with glasses run out of one of the alleyways of the city into the open streets. The man had dark hair combed back with a few hairs out of place, his rectangular glasses were cracked with one even missing its lenses, and his well tailored white suit was torn in several places along with being stained by dirt.

And specks of blood.

"Wait, get back here, you idiot! You can't just run out into the open like that! They'll just pick you off like some target!"

Followed close behind was another stranger. A dark haired girl ran after the man, her face expressing annoyance and exhaustion. Unlike the man though, she wasn't covered in dirt and didn't appear harmed. The girl wore what looked like a school uniform with a dark blue sailor's shirt and orange undershirt, white tie tucked in, a dark blue skirt with yellow knee socks with red stripes, and red basketball sneakers. From what Touma could see, she had dark unruly hair that reached her back, appearing as if she had forgotten to comb her hair this morning. Her face was rather plain for a girl with dark blue eyes that he almost mistaken for black. And her build was rather normal for a girl in middle school, modest in every way from her chest to her waist.

She looked like just your ordinary high school girl you could find anywhere.

The first to react to the scene was surprisingly Angela as she shot up from her seat with a gasp.

"Toka-chan!" she exclaimed.

Finally catching up with the frantic man and grabbing a hold of the back of his collar, the girl known as Toka spun her head around in surprise at the voice calling out to her. Her mouth dropped at the sight of the white robbed raven haired nun with green eyes happily waving back at her. Toka's own eyes brightened and moved to greet Angela before said eyes went wide in alarm.

Her dark eyes met another set of eyes that mirrored her own. It was the sight of spiky black hair, plain features, that had her stepping back. She looked away, a shadow masking her expression as her back greeted the three teens.

Than, to everyone's surprise, she ran away, dragging along the heavily breathing man behind her.

"Wait, Toka-chan! Where are you going?! G-Get back here!" Angela shouted frantically, suddenly moving away from Touma and Index to run after the retreating girl.

"Angela! Where are you going!" Index shouted worriedly, running after the back of the older nun.

It took Touma a second to realize what was happening. He cursed loudly, dragging his hand over his face at the stroke of bad luck. Of course, he couldn't even wait for the train without something happening. Sighing, he began to run after the girls and the suited man with equal haste.

At least he would have, if not for the five guys running out of where the girl Toka had came from.

"Where the fuck did that bitch go!? Shit, she's getting away with our meal ticket here!" One of the ill mannered thugs shouted in frustration. He began to pull on his dark dreadlocks with a hysterical panic, looking as if he was about to be marched to his execution as his dark skinned complexion actually paled. He wore a standard dark blazer and jeans, telling of his status as a student like the other guys around him. But unlike your typical student, he came of more as a no good thug with a ring piercings in his ears and stud in his nose. Hyperventilating, his brown eyes suddenly caught sight of the girls running away from the area. His panic was settled once he caught sight of unruly long black hair and the expensive suited man in her grip.

The man grinned widely with a glee that sent the wrong kind of shivers down Touma's spin. Something wasn't right here. Motioning his head to the girls, he along with the rest of the men revealed the concealed weapons on hand. He found bats, pocket knives, chains, and wrenches on hand. And to his further worry, a gun.

"Do not let that bitch get away with Dr. Tatsumi! I don't care if you have to kill her and her friends, just make sure that the doctor is left breathing! We can not fuck this up again! Got it!?"

Touma's fist grew taught. Did they not even notice he was here? Did they think he would just walk away and pretend he didn't see anything? Or were they that centered on harming the girls for their own means that nothing else mattered?

Whatever the reason, Touma wasn't going to just stand aside.

"Just what the hell are you blabbing on about!?" he roared madly as he dashed into the middle of the group.

Finally taking notice of the person right behind them, the group of thugs found some high school boy charging at them. Before they could even act, the boy had run right in the middle of them and swung his fist at one of them. They were too stunned to react in time to the new threat.

Having caught eye of the gun wielder, Touma had targeted the gunner first. It looked like only one of them bothered to carry a gun for some reason. He didn't question it. All he did was meet the short cut haired thug's surprised expression with his hard fist. With a loud thwack and crunch, the thug's eyes rolled into the back of his skull as Touma's fist struck straight and true. Blood gushed out of his broken nose. With a gurgled groan, the thug fell back without another word.

 _'That's one down!'_ Touma turned around to find the four remaining thugs snapping back to reality with anger and sneers. Feeling the gun land by his feet, he quickly kicked it far out of sight as they began to circle him.

This was bad. Normally, he was fine with taking on one person in a fight. Two was a little much. Three was where he would run away. He found that he wasn't the best when he was facing more than one or two people in a fight. As someone without an ability, he didn't have any way of fighting off multiple opponents. Imagine Breaker wouldn't do him any good either since this was District 10. Espers with abilities didn't make their way into the den of Level 0's, no one with an ability to speak of had any reason to walk its streets. Right now, he was facing a bunch of thugs who fought with their fists and weapons.

Touma's fists never less lost their tight grip. The situation was something he wanted no part of. He just wanted to go home. He was normal high school boy for crying out loud! The last thing he wanted to do was get dragged into some conflict again. But he couldn't turn away now. Especially after making the first move and drawing first blood.

Someone was in trouble. And he couldn't stand to turn away from someone in need. Not if he could help it.

"What the hell? Who the fuck do you think you are, fucker!?" The head of the thugs yelled angrily as he coiled the steel chain around his fist and ran up to him. He swung his fist down onto the spiky haired boy, intent on paying back the favor to his face.

Touma moved quickly, side stepping the wide swing as he felt some of the air sweep his hair. He could already tell that the thug was strong and had one hell of a mean swing. Hearing some footsteps behind him, he felt the need to duck. A glinting knife was swept diagonally for the back of his neck. Still ducking, Touma spun his posture with his elbow swinging for the man's stomach. His elbow struck deep, stealing the man's breath in one blow before delivering an uppercut that stumbled the thug back. Touma grinned in victory before he found himself raising his forearms up.

As the man fell back, one of his pals came in with a bat swinging in wide. A crack of wood could be heard as Touma blocked the baseball swing with a deep grimace. Nothing broke thankfully, but it felt like his bones had nearly cracked. Fighting back the pain, he jumped back as the thug swung for an overhead bash. Touma stepped into the thug's space quickly, delivering a lunging jab to the man's chin with all his might. The baseball bat fell out of the thugs hand, his thoughts going silent as he found he couldn't even speak with his broken jaw.

Touma winced as he flailed his hand. That one had been a little too much. He was a street fighter, not a trained martial artists. He hadn't done any training to make his fists strong enough to endure dealing heavy blows. He was a complete amateur really. At least that's what he believed. He had no idea of what the past Kamijou may have done to react the way he currently did.

Without thinking, Touma grabbed the bat that thug had dropped and brought it up to block the stabbing knife from the thug he had moments ago drove his elbow into. An instinct had taken over before he could even react in surprise. Again and again, the man wildly slashed at the bat, hoping to slash it to pieces and get to the main course. Touma wasn't sure what he was doing, his body moved on its own as he deflected one of the slashes with an underhand swing that cracked the knife wielding thug's hand. The man screamed in pain, stepping back to grip his throbbing, reddening hand with a deep grimace. He moved his eyes off his sprained hand to glare at the high school boy hatefully, a dirty curse on his lips.

Wood blocked his site in the form of the bat's wide swing smashing into his face. Like the others, he was out like a light with one hit.

There was no time to breath in relief for Touma. Once one fell, the last two charged in with their fists swinging wildly. Touma sweated with panic, backing away and dodging the several raining blows aimed to knock him out. One of the thugs had steel chains coiled around his fist while the second one had favored a golden knuckle duster. Thank god they were out in the open streets. Otherwise Touma wasn't sure he would have been able to dodge well enough to avoid the furious blows coming his way.

"You fucking little fuck! Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" The leader of the thugs cried out angrily, his face frantic and wild like an animal. Coming in close, he spun on his feet with his arms out, swinging his chained fists out like a tornado. Touma made a move to jump back, only to be surprised by the chains loosening to fly out like whips to lash at his face. He took several lashes across the face that bruised him deeply with bleeding welts.

Stunned, he found himself at the mercy of the leader's remaining friend. The beanie capped thug grinned widely with glee as he twisted the knuckle duster in his grip to reveal a small button. He charged straight for the high school boy's center, pressing the button to reveal a sharp blade protruding out the side at four inches long. The thug stabbed the bladed knuckle duster deep into the boy's chest with little hesitation.

Even while disoriented, Touma moved to dodge the stabbing rush with a sidestep to the right. Seeing that, the thug changed his stab into a wide swing that just barely connected. A long dragging slash marred Touma's white button shirt that quickly began to bleed. The bat in his hand dropped with a clatter.

Grinning at the look of pain on the spiky haired boy, the leader of the thugs snapped his chains back around his fists with satisfaction. For a moment, he was actually worried. Some random kid just came out of literal nowhere and just knocked out three of his fellow thugs. He wasn't sure what pissed him off more at the moment. The fact he had once again lost their target. Or the fact that some nobody had taken a few of his boys out with just his fists. A literal nobody waltzed in to ruin their job!

The thug leader was pissed. But at least he found something to release all his frustrations on.

"Really, who are you?" the thug leader sneered as his partner and he began to stalk towards the heavily breathing spiky haired punk. Loosening one of his chains to fall to the street with a clink, he couldn't help but wonder why the boy got in their way first, "Some nobody just walks in, busts my boys up, and all without an ability? You're a Level 0, aren't ya? You have to be, otherwise you would have already used some kind of power to take us out by now. Even if you were a Level 1, you would have done something!"

Snapping his chain link, he smirked in victory as he watched Touma move his arms to block the blow. Too bad. The steel coiled around one of his forearms firmly, allowing him to reel the boy in with a strong tug of his arm. The high school proved to at least have some muscles, fighting against the pull with his face strained. It left him open to his friend charging back in with a stab.

"So, who's gang are you apart of? Are you one of Komaba's boys, getting in way of the rest of us Skill-Out's with some stupid notion of chivalry!? Get real, dumbass! Don't you see that none of that shit works!? The only way we Level 0's will get any kind of fucking respect is with power! If it's underhanded tricks and scare tactics, if it brings us some shred of respect through fear, than it's worth it!"

Touma's face twisted angrily. He had no idea what the hell was going on. Once again, he felt like he was about to be dragged into something a normal high schooler had no part in. He didn't want to get into any of this.

With this next step though, he couldn't turn away or leave what that bastard was saying alone.

Feeling the bat next to his foot, Touma stomped onto the handle with enough force to flip it up and catch it in his right hand. Stabbing the wooden bat forward just as the knife wielder came within stabbing range, he intercepted the blade, rooting it deep into the wood. The action was enough to catch the thug by surprise. And Touma took the chance in front of him to swing the bat across the man's right cheek with a loud crack. The blow stumbled him but did not knock him out on the spot. But the second swing that came next put an end to that.

Four down, one to go!

"You know, I have no literal idea what's going on right now. I don't know who Komaba is either. Whatever you may be guessing about me is wrong. But you are right about one thing." Touma said sternly as turned his eyes to the furiously scowling thug leader.

The thug leader, for reasons he couldn't understand, found his feet back up underneath those stern and determined dark eyes. The kid looked like a normal high schooler. Like all high school boys, he should have been cowering in fear, begging him to leave him alone and running with his tail behind his legs. He should have been crying, sobbing as he had been hit by a bat, cut with a knife, and whipped with chains! But instead, the spiky haired boy showed no signs of backing down or showing a single hint of fear.

Instead the boy faced them with raw determination and anger. But why? What the hell did they do to deserve the ire of such a boy?!

"I am a Level 0, but I'm nothing like you idiots! Talking crap about using fear tactics, threats, and hurting people to get respect?! How is hunting down three girls and a scared man going to get you any kind of fucking respect!? The only one who needs to get real around here, is you dumbasses!"

Letting go of his fight over the chain wrapped around his arm, Touma charged straight ahead towards the thug leader with a roar. Going into panic, the thug snapped his other link to strike at the boy's face like a striking cobra. Touma moved his bat to intervene, blocking the strike just in time as it coiled around the bat. The unfortunate boy grinned in victory.

Still running, he swung his arm and the bat around to wrap the chains further along his arm. Enough of the chains had coiled to give him some control as he swung his arms apart. The thug leader's arms followed in suite like a puppet's strings, his chains revealing to have been tightly wrapped around his biceps. The thug's leader's eyes went wide in fear, sweating as his body trembled at the sight of Touma coming closer with a vicious grin.

"As for who I am and why I'm doing this, does it really matter?! I don't need a reason to help someone from a bunch of idiots who would wish for respect through fear! I do it because I want to! So go to sleep, knowing that a nobody stopped your stupid plans out of a whim!"

Forehead met forehead as Touma bashed his own skull against the thug's. It was enough for Touma's own forehead to bleed based on the pure force that tore the skin. Blood trickled down his forehead, dripping onto the streets with blips as silence followed.

The thug leader glared at Touma with pure rage. His expression had been frozen like that for some time. Finally though, his eyes twitched, rolling back into his head as his whites met Touma's. Not a sound of pain left his lips as his body wobbled, knee's losing their strength as his legs gave out. Stepping back, Touma held his throbbing forehead with a grimace as he watched the thug wobble around a bit before falling forward with a thud.

Touma sighed heavily, happy that it was over. Well, not over, _over_. There was still the matter of Angela and Index running after that high school girl. With a tired scowl on his weary face, he turned towards the direction the girls had fled. His right hand gripped his chest with a wince, reminding him of the slash across his chest. Great, now he was going to be dealing with that and the wounds on his face. Shacking off the slight ringing in his head, he began to chase after the rest into the rundown district full of thugs.

 _'I'm going to end up in the hospital again, aren't I? Maybe I will break a record after all.'_

* * *

Hamazura Shiage was your average Level 0, just like many others who resided in District 10. Even after participating in the Power Curriculum Program he had shown no signs of developing a special psychic ability. He was a zero, having no worth to the city. He was powerless. Unable to show any kind of worth like so many others. He was a literal nobody without value.

In a way though, he was thankful to some degree for being labeled a zero. Because of it, he got to met Komuba Ritoku, the unofficial leader of Skill-Out. The intimidating man was someone all those who found themselves without any power in the city to be their leader. He was someone they all followed without question. And while their were many other organizations with their own names and methods, it went without question that Komuba stood above them all. And it was that man who saw something of worth in Hamazura, took him in, and went as far as having as one of his closest comrades.

In a way, Hamazura felt pride in his status as Level 0. He was apart of something bigger and better than anything he would have found as an Esper. Skill-Out may have had a bad reputation in thanks to those smaller groups acting out, but those who were apart of the real Skill-Out knew what they did was just. They protected their kind, fought back against the Espers that picked on them, and did their best to make it known that all Level-0's had their pride.

Anyone who would go against their Skill-Out and cross their paths would of course be seen as enemies. Anyone who messed with comrades would also be dealt with swiftly.

Grimacing, the unruly blond haired thug looked around the alley to find blood staining the ground. His face twisted sadly at the pile of bodies a few feet away. He recognized a few of them as Skill-Out's he had worked alongside in a few jobs. Their bodies were riddled with holes, shot up with shell's buried in their cold bodies. His gut twisted sickly.

"They didn't deserve this." He snarled as he walked up to his fallen brothers. He knelt down to stare down one of his friends. Biting back a tear, he shut one of their eyes in hope of bringing them some peace.

This wasn't the first attack on Skill-Out today. For the last few hours now, they have had reports of attacks of the similar nature spring up on their territory. Each assault left behind either heavily wounded or dead members of Komaba's gang. It was almost systematic. Someone was attacking their gang with the clear intent of sending a message. A message of war.

Standing up right with trembling shoulders, Hamazura left the alley with a furious expression. This had gone on for far too long. Komaba needed to be informed that his boys were being killed. And that they needed to act. It was time to remind those damn idiots who took the name of Skill-Out for themselves who the real Skill-Out was.

Hamazura took in a shuddered breath as he brought out his cell. He waited a few seconds for the rings to stop before speaking with loathing in his voice.

"Hanzou, get the boss. We need to have a nice and long talk about the state of District 10 and the copycats running around with our names."

* * *

In the dark office building that once tested chemicals on animals, a shadowed silhouette stood in front of a glowing screen. On the desk sat an odd full faced helmet. Who they were was not known. Like many others in District 10, he was just a zero, a worthless cog in the grand machine that was Academy City. But he liked to believe that he wasn't as worthless as the city believed. After all, he had at one point lead a very prominent gang.

Behind the shadowed boy, two bold initials were painted in giant letter with an odd skull lock in the middle of the two. They read DL.

The boy wore a grin that lit up the room. The phone that had been pressed against his ear was shut loudly as he chuckled over what he had just heard. One of the small gangs he had leading in his current operation at the word of a certain girl had just reported something really interesting. They had failed, losing their target after tracking them down. Apparently some high school girl had run in to drag the target away and they gave chase. They were so close to closing in on them. Then out of nowhere, a high school boy with spiky dark hair came in and ruined everything. Standing up, he donned the helmet and left the room to prepare himself.

It sounded similar to what had happened to him not too long ago. The description he was given was rather plain, not a thing worth noting about the high school boy who got in their way. Only that he had spiky hair. Could it be?

"What are the chances that we meet again, Kamijou? I wonder. . .if you're still the same clown who fought for the sake of a monster. Or has the monster changed you, as I thought?"

As the door shut behind him, the computer was left on with its display glowing for a few minutes before shutting off. On the screen revealed the profile of a certain spiky haired high school boy with a pension for misfortune.

* * *

 _ **Stuck in a district full of nothing but delinquents just like you, what is a misfortune high school boy suppose to do? Run and punch the lights out of whoever stands in your way! The Kamijou way!**_

 _ **But in all the commotion, a underline chaos stirs.**_

 _ **How long can one stand being called a Zero, worthless, a waste of space? Abandoned for your worth, how much longer can you stand to be deemed as nothing? Just how far is one willing to be seen a something more than worthless?**_

 _ **A story once closed has seemed to have been revisited. This world is warped by those with the potential of Absolute Power. No progress can be made in this world, so why not end there own once again?**_

 **And we've hit the end once again. I always hate this part, I'm sure you all feel the same too. Trust me, as a fellow reader I go through the same thing. Why can't the damn author just give me the next chapter already!?**

 **Well, we got to do edits, revise some parts that we feel need changing, add in some parts that feel smoother, and double, triple, check our edits. Trust me, a lot goes on to the rough draft before I even upload the unedited copy to my account to edit and touch up again. This shit takes time!**

 **Well, I'm only about two chapters away from closing the arc before going through with uploading the story quicker than now. I'd say this will be a 6-7 chapter arc and I've already completed 4 chapters that are going through what I've just mentioned above. I just got to find more time to write. Kinda hard since I've been promoted at work to open the old dog themed deli by myself with my own key to the store. I'm a working man. I got 40+ hour weeks that are always guaranteed to have overtime! Getting the chance to sit down and write can be difficult to get for a guy like me.**

 **And, I may have, may not have, been playing with my copy of Kingdom Hearts 3 nonstop since last week and been ignoring all my writing since then. Just, you know, maybe. If we were speaking hypothetically.**

 **. . .I don't regret those 40+ hours I sank in.**

 **Anyway, I hope to get the next chapter up and ready by the end of the month and then get to uploading the rest weekly. Cross your fingers that I can get to the end of the arc by then! Oh! Maybe we'll get to the end by the time we get word of V22 of New Testament! I'm so god damn excited to see the fight between Touma and Coronzon!**

 **Until then, read and review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	4. Among Zeroes

**Oh, dear god! I don't even know how I'm uploading now after the month I've had! This certain author is dead on his feet, literally, I'm exhausted as hell after the long month of work in due of my promotion. About fifty hours a week with only a day off tends to do that to a man.**

 **NeoShadows here and back with a new chapter of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps. Seems I'll be going for monthly updates to my story, just like my bud ArmorCoreNineBall. At least I update. . .this story. God I got to try and get my other stories updated. The only reason this one is getting so much attention is because of the fact I had already completed about four chapters before publishing. I love writing, I truly do, but I'm a working man who's responsible for opening a dog themed deli at five in the morning. Five to sometimes six days straight mind you. I'm tired.**

 **Anyway, enough about my grueling work schedule, let's get back to the main focus here already. Since all I had to do was complete my edits and revisions to this chapter, I'm uploading it before I finish Chapter 6 this week, so better now than never. But first, Reviews!**

 **BlueJack22: Ah, I remember my high school days fondly. . . .huh. I'm getting flash backs of an emo girl I was very close to duct taping my mouth and limbs in the middle of class. Not, uh, sure how to feel about that. Getting mixed signals. Smash, huh? Welcome to the club! Been playing that whenever I get the chance between work and writing too.**

 **Dr. Self Deprecation: I swear, that Fre nda joke will never get old. Or sad. Who knows? A whole gaggle of kids that shouldn't exist yet had just been dumped into the past, so who knows just what will change? As for the line about Touma's innocence, well, his kids are diverse in personality. So he's bound to have one or two that are rather, er, affectionate I suppose?**

 **Nguyen Thanh Long: I'm actually wondering if I'm the only one who thought of bringing them back. I can't recall any other fic using them again. FIRST, I CALL FIRST! Ah, good luck figuring out who Toka's mother is. I made sure no one would be able to guess right away until later.**

 **Deo V: I made sure to triple check my edits this time! Hopefully this one has been polished enough. I'm sure no one will be able to guess Toka's mother, that I'm pretty positive about. I hear ya too, I always love stories that speak to my own inner speaker, same with video games.**

 **ArmorCoreNineBall: Sweet Angela, I had fun with her character, which we have yet to fully see. So much happening in this chapter and we've yet to even get to the middle ground! Hey, let's try a guessing game. Whenever a new Future Child is introduced, guess who it is. Good luck with Toka though, I really doubt anyone would be able to guess her mother just yet until a few clues are given.**

 **WilliamZ0: Yeah, not all the kid's have a good impression of Touma despite all the good he's done for others. It's** **complicated and only growing more complicated with time travel. Though there is a reason why the Future Kamijou is the way he is and how he ended up with more kids than he could count on both hands. A story that we won't touch on just yet. All will be revealed down the twisted road before us. Oh, and I ain't saying much on Othinus yet. Spoiler territory right there.**

 **Now that we're done there, let's get to the real meat of the meal! Let's scroll!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index, all rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi. I want to sleep. I'm so tired right now, I can't even think of anything for the disclaimer section. I'm just going to update and wrap myself in a breakfast burrito with my blanket while acting like the spicy ground beef. Maybe plays some Pokemon after watching some more Index.**

 **. . .Shit, my head's brainstorming something new. I JUST WANT SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP DAMN ITTTTTTT!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Among Zeroes.**

 **Spark_The_Riot.**

* * *

 **Between The Lines 2.**

How old was she again? Seven, eight years old? How old was she when her parents had sent her away to the marvel and technological utopia that was Academy City? Far too young in her opinion, but her parents didn't seemed concerned with sending their only daughter far away from her cozy home to the cold world of cruel logic and facts. No, the only thing they had cared for were results.

Mila Etoile, of the Etoile family, owners of the Etoile Luxury Inn's in France. She was the only child of the head of the famous line of inn's that could only be found in France for the upper class. As the only child, she had a duty to her family to exceed in everything that was laid out to her, to be the brilliant star of her family's eye that they could proudly show off to their contacts. At the age of four, she was expected to be more than fluent in her native tongue, developing her skills on her second language, reading, and knowledgeable of several world events for proper discussion with her parents contacts. Again, all at the age of four. . .maybe five.

But to her parents disappointment, Mila did not hold up to their ever high expectations. She was not born a brilliant star, a prodigy that shone and blinded all others, as they had hoped and demanded. No, Mila was born your average, adorable child. When compared to others, she was no different than any other four year old. She was just a child who loved to play, giggle, draw, and adored her parents above all.

To a normal pair of parents, that was all they could ever ask for. But Mila was an Etoile, she was expected to be better and brighter! To settle for normal, mediocre, dull, would not be accepted at all. Being a four year old was no excuse and would not be tolerated.

Mila had only been a child, all she wanted was to make her parents proud. So, she had endured all the grueling classes from strict, cold toned tutors, the bland dietary she was forced to eat to develop her future figure, the posture lessons that hurt her back, and the boring textbooks on matters and subjects fit for old men. All so she could please her beloved mother and father. Even as she failed time and time again to make them proud, she tried her absolute hardest for them. Because she loved them. She would do anything for them.

Even if it meant being sent away from her only home to a foreign country who's language she hadn't learned to speak of yet.

Academy City had a population of over two billion that was comprised of mostly students. But most of those who lived in Academy City were not born there. While a large majority of those who resided within the city were of Japanese descent, about 1/4th of the population were born out of the nation of Japan. Whether through scholarships, exchange programs, applications, or other certain. . .means, the city had enrolled students from all over the world to better discover the secrets to creating Espers that could reach Level 6. And of course no one would ever turn down the opportunity to become an Esper if given the chance, not after witnessing all the promotional advertisements Academy City had sent out.

When the head of the Etoile family had learned of the marvels that were Espers, he had jumped at the chance to gain another accomplishment to show off to his contacts and competitors. All it had taken was a simple large donation to Academy City and he was given the honor of sending his only daughter away to the city of science to become not just an Esper, but one of the greatest and brightest of Espers their were! She would be the star of Academy City, outshining even the famous fabled Accelerator in time! For his daughter was a star! Mila had failed at everything else at home, so surely it was Academy City where she would prove her worth.

And so a young little Mila Etoile had been shipped off the very next day the idea and deal had been made, without even a simple hug goodbye as she watched her home country disappear over the plane's window. The tears she shed as she vanished from her parents arms were unseen, her father and mother having not even been there to see her off. Only a cold, strict voice message had been left.

As Academy City came into view, the eight year old Mila had made a vow, a vow to become the greatest Esper Academy City had ever seen, so her parents could finally be proud of her and show her the love she had desperately craved.

Like much else though that she worked hard at, Mila had failed to live up to expectations.

Zero. A number so worthless and lacking it had no real meaning other than to represent absence. That's what the city that had offered her only chance of gaining her parent's love had labeled her. A Level 0 was given out to those who had undergone the SYSTEM Scan and been deemed as One With No Power. For some, those labeled as zeroes still had the potential to grow their AIM and attain more power and level up to a higher level. But like a majority of the same Level 0's, Mila showed no signs of becoming anything more than a zero no matter how much she tried. She could spend her entire life in Academy, taking all their medications, listening to all their lectures, going under all kinds of hypnosis, and studying every hour of the day until her last breath, and she would still be no closer to advancing to even a Level 1.

That was the cold hard truth. Having lived in Academy City for so long, she had come to accept the cold hard truth. It was what they had taught her to accept as her reality. After eight long years of study with no results, she had come to accept that there was nothing she could do to gain any power at all in this cruel world that had abandoned her and pinned her as worthless garbage. At least that's how things would have gone if she hadn't stumbled upon a certain bit of information one rainy night when messing with Academy City's encrypted data banks.

And if it hadn't been for meeting _him_ that rainy night.

It was with a bright grin on Mila's face that the blonde haired Level 0 wandered the streets of District 10, patiently awaiting the retrieval of a certain informative scientist on the run from her little gang of hired Skill-Outs. For once in a very long time, she was feeling very happy. For good reason after all! If all went as planned, than for once in her miserable life she would finally get what she truly wanted. She couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement even as she passed through gang territory without a care for the world.

 _'Hmm?'_ Mila quirked a brow, stopping in place as she heard what sounded like a muffled scream of pain close by. Her green eyes narrowed, her right hand falling to her skirt to caress the holstered gun to her thigh just in case. She followed the sounds of heavy, labored breathing, coming onto the sight of some delinquent resting on a bench by the park. No doubt a stray Skill-Out, probably not one of the thugs she hired.

It didn't matter. If worst comes to worst, another body would drop today. It certainly wouldn't be the last if she had anything to say about it.

* * *

"What? Is that all you idiots are capable of?!"

A blitz of pure sparking energy bounced in the abandoned corner store, flashing lights as those inside were treated to the sparks of electricity smashing into them. A man with a clean shaved head and red leather jacket was suddenly dented into a soda machine by a wildly sparking knuckle. With his strength failing him, the shaved headed man glared with all his hate at the boy who's fist was still planted in his gut.

It was a chestnut haired boy who looked as if he should have been attending some rich school in the city. He even wore a uniform that reminded him of those ojou-samas but tailored for men. The sneer on his face even reminded the thug of the high level Espers who loved to look down on them.

"Y-You'll pay! No one, NO ONE, FUCKS WITH THE SKULL HEADS!"

The rich boy rolled his eyes before delivering another body lighting shock through his fist. The thug like the rest was knocked out cold. Cleaning his hands off of the filth, the rich boy walked out of the abandoned convenient store with a scoff.

"Skull Heads? Is that why everyone of them is shaved bald? Who the hell came up with such a stupid name?! Seriously, what are those Level-0's smoking when they come with these names!?"

Combing his hair back with a static crackle, Hana moved on with his next target in mind. That was another Skill-Out cut from the picture. Good riddance. Now there was one less gang of morons who thought they could hurt some random Esper out of jealousy. It was about time someone with actual power took them out.

Yawning, Hana whistled a favorite tune his mother loved as he continued on his war path.

In the back of his mind, there was something he had originally come to do. It had been all that he had been thinking of when he was dropped into the past to deal with. . .some threat? Right? For some reason, his memory was clouded. All that he remembered was that it was important and concerned his future. A future that had been ruined by one man. A man who had once been dear to him.

"Deadbeat bastard still won't leave my head!"

An odd wisp unseen to Hana blinked in his eyes before returning to normal. He growled to himself as he continued his hunt, the thought of his father still lingering in the back of his mind.

In time, he would deal with that problem too.

* * *

 _'Alright, if I were three girls and a random scientist being dragged around by I'm guessing a high schooler, where would I go when chased by a gang of thugs?'_

The strange question that tested his sanity was the least of this unfortunate Kamijou's worries as he ran around the decaying, trash littered, streets of District 10. He was already sore from his earlier fight against five thugs, so it was understandable that he was pretty tired and panting tiredly in his search. At some point he had lost where he was going. All he had to go on in finding the location the girls had ran off to was that they went straight ahead. That was it. For all he knew they had cut a few corners to lose their pursuers. Or they could have gone back to the train station to leave the district all together. That would be just his luck!

If he was to be honest though, them leaving would be a blessing. At least than they would have been safe from whoever was chasing them. Though this was Touma, and anything involving him would leave the more unfortunate event.

 _'So, they're still in the district somewhere. Which means I got to search everywhere for them and hope they're safe.'_ Safe in gang territory. The likelihood of that though was small. _'I really wish Anti-Skill would patrol around here. Finding them on my own while dealing with delinquents isn't what I call a great way to spend my day.'_

If Touma did find the girls, he hoped that he wouldn't have to chase after them again. The girl with unruly dark hair didn't seem to like him for some odd reason. The second she caught sight of him she turned her back to runaway. Was she someone from his past? Did he do something to her to earn such an expression on her face?

Touma could still remember the face she had made when she caught sight of him. He wasn't sure if the others had caught it, but he did. It was a look of pure agony and sadness. As if just seeing his face was enough to break her heart to pieces. He must have done something to the girl Angela called Toka before he had lost his memory. Which only made things more complicated. He hurt someone and had no idea how or why. Only Toka knew the answer and she didn't want to see him.

Growing exhausted, Touma fell back against a bench by an old park in what he guessed was once a common ground for the people of the district before things fell apart. He leaned back, propping his head to stare up at the sky with a long winded sigh. He knew now wasn't the time to be resting, but his body was already beat up as it is. It wouldn't do for him to run himself ragged. Not for the first time since all the trouble started did Touma wince as he gripped his blood stained chest and bruised face. Thankfully the wound had stopped bleeding, but it stung like hell. Worse it could get was infected.

"Heh, just my luck as usual it seems. Makes me wonder sometimes if this is some kind of divine punishment for something I did in the past." Touma couldn't help but wonder out loud before smirking bitterly as his eyes fell on his cursed right hand, "Than again, Imagine Breaker would simply nullify even god's punishment, wouldn't it? Who even knows how long I've had this stupid thing for. If it's brought me this much trouble now, I dread to wonder what my much younger self had to deal with. Or maybe it's better that I don't remember."

A childhood full of nothing but misfortune. Touma wondered how that must have been. For a little kid who wanted nothing more to enjoy his youth to be plagued everyday with his brand of bad luck at every waking moment. A sense of melancholy gripped Touma. His memory of those times were gone now, so no use crying over what had happened to him long ago. It didn't matter now anyways. He was fine with the life he had now. Even if he was just living the life of someone that was no longer here and dealing with their misfortune.

Touma sighed tiredly. Now wasn't exactly the time to get lost in his own problems. He still had to find the girls and protect them from anyone else chasing after them.

 _'. . . .ghigig. . .gighigigrw.'_

An eerie throbbing sensation suddenly erupted over Touma's right arm like it was a pulsating vein of water ready to burst violently. His eyes grew wide in alarm as his left arm clutched his right's wrist frantically with a deep, searing wince of agony. He swore he could hear a powerful heartbeat and his right arm actually throb visibly with each agonizing beat.

"W-What the hell's going on!?" Touma said through gritting teeth.

Something felt like it was going to burst from his arm! Like a rush of some force that wished to rupture his arm to be freed from its confinement. It was the worse pain he had felt this far into his life as the new Kamijou Touma. And he lost said arm a few days ago. At the memory, Touma scowled through the pain as he clutched the arm to his chest tightly. Was that it? Was this some after effect of having his arm chopped off? The frog faced doctor did say that his arm would suffer some aches even after his cast was off. Was this it?

As quickly as the intense pain came over Touma's arm it faded away. Just like that, almost as if he had never felt a thing. The sudden lose of pain caught him off guard, leaving him hunched over panting heavily with droplets of sweat running down his face as he stared bewilderingly at his right arm.

"Hmm? Are you alright over there?"

From the corner of his right eye, Touma spotted what looked like a silhouette coming over. Being winded by the intense ache, he wasn't able to properly react to the new and possibly dangerous presence greeting him. All he could really make out of the person hurrying over was their slender pale legs from his hunched position.

Gentle hands fell on his back. For a moment he grew panicked until those hands helped to ease him back into the bench in a much straighter position. Concerned pale green eyes met his own before they lingered over to his chest and gasped. They found themselves glued to the slash over Touma's chest that had grown red and the blood that stained both his white shirt and orange undershirt.

"You're bleeding! Did you get into a fight with some delinquent?"

Personal space didn't seem to be a concept the girl followed. Upon seeing the slash on his chest, the mystery girl with pale green eyes and platinum curled hair had ripped open his uniform shirt for a better look. Buttons popped out along with the touch of the chilling wind in that moment. Touma blushed heavily, his past pain completely forgotten as some beautiful girl's face glued itself to his chest. Thank god she hadn't taken his orange shirt off.

Yet.

"Hold still for a second, I've got some disinfectant and a few bandages on me that should do the trick."

Touma blinked, finding his voice failing him in the moment that a sudden glint of silver flashed over him like a downward line. His favorite shirt was then ripped down the middle by a hidden blade, exposing his chest for the entire world just like that. The cool wind of the empty district's park tickled and agitated his wound like pecking kisses.

Okay, this was where he drew the damn line!

"W-What the hell are you doing?! As a matter of fact, who are you!? Don't just go ripping off someone's shirt in broad daylight like it was nothing! Someone could get the wrong idea, damn it!" Touma yelled frantically with his arms flailing around in indignation.

For the first time since she had met Touma, the mystery girl paused. Fingers pinching a cotton swap dipped with alcohol and bandages in the other that this unfortunate Kamijou was wondering where the hell she brought them out from, she looked up at her patient with a cute tilt of her head. It was then that he fully took notice of their position. Touma's legs were spread out, leaving her room to kneel on her kneecaps in the space between his legs a bit to reach his chest. He couldn't help but struggle to gulp, feeling her hot breath tickle a certain rising part of his lower body. If anyone were to pass over they would have found the two in a rather raunchy position one would find in some crappy adult video.

"Oh, apologies, Stranger-san! I tend to get tunnel vision when I'm focused on something. I suppose this would be strange to anyone." she said more to herself in realization.

"No duh! You're basically stripping me here! And this is my favorite shirt!"

Now that he could hear a bit more from the strange platinum haired girl, Touma realized that her speech wasn't exactly clean. She must have been a foreigner. That was a bit odd. They didn't have too many foreigners around Academy City. And she seemed to know enough Japanese to speak to him. She was probably an exchange student who had lived in the city enough time to learn the language than.

The foreign girl giggled at his outburst. She wasn't deterred though, continuing with cleaning his wound on his chest before moving along to his face. Touma sighed in defeat. It didn't look like any amount of chastising the girl would get her off of him. And he was feeling a little better now that his wounds were being treated properly. Guess he was just going to have to sit and let some beautiful girl take care of him like a nurse. He couldn't help but blush when he thought about it like that. What were the chances of this poor unfortunate Kamijou finding himself in this situation? You know, without someone walking by and misunderstanding everything which would lead to some bodily harm to her person or another lap around the city.

"By the way, you're not part of those insufferable Skill-Out's by any chance? Are you?"

Touma quirked brow before suddenly wincing. Too tight! The bandages were just a bit too tight!

"Skill-Out? Not really. To tell you the truth, I'm not a resident of District 10. I just found myself stranded here after the train tram ran late and lost my friends. Than I got into some trouble with a couple of thugs." he grunted.

The foreign girl didn't meet his eye, focused entirely on patching him up before she spoke again.

"So, you're an Esper then? Must be nice. Having power, an ability to call your own. Despite this being a city of 2.3 billion students under the Power Curriculum Program, not everyone is so lucky to be granted a power based on their own Personal Reality." she said bitterly.

The sudden chuckle that escaped from Touma's lips caught the foreign girl off guard in her musings. She looked up to find the spiky haired boy smiling sheepishly.

"Actually, you're looking at a rather unfortunate Level 0. Like a few other of my classmates, this Kamijou hasn't shown any signs of developing a power since he got here. In fact, I'm the least unlikely to ever be granted an ability that would be described as Level 1."

Imagine Breaker would be the cause for that, he was sure. With his right arm negating anything supernatural to his body, it would stand to reason that it was also the reason he had never developed an ability even after all the tests and drugs he had gone through since he arrived in Academy City. Even the AIM Dispersion field that all Espers emitted no matter their level was null and void in him. One could say he was the lowest of Zeros. After all, despite being Level 0s, they still held the potential of becoming more with enough time and training. Touma though would always remain a zero with literally no hope of developing an ability as long as Imagine Breaker resided in his right.

Funny how little he found himself caring about that little fact that would break any Esper who had resided in this city for so long. Having no power born from his Personal Reality was fine with Touma. From what he had seen in his short time as Kamijou Touma, power carried the burden of corruption. He had seen it in the higher level Espers that picked on the lower leveled, showing off their power and dominance over their lesser for whatever they wished. And it only got worse the higher their levels were. Someone should have told the leader of Academy City to have thought twice about granting supernatural powers to kids off all people. Even on paper it didn't sound like a bright idea.

That was just what Touma believed though. Not many others thought the same as him, if any. Seemed he was always the lone majority.

"So, you're just like me then?"

Touma's admission of being a lowly Level 0 seemed to have an odd effect on the platinum haired girl. A sympathetic smile made its way to her lips as she stared up at him with her pale green eyes. She seemed to be truly happy with the news. Such an honest expression took Touma back as he gulped strongly. This was the last thing he would expect to see from a girl.

A wince escaped from his lips as she decided to finish up with the bleeding welts on his face. A patch of gauze was quickly tapped over his cheek before she stood up and cleaned off her skirt from any dirt.

"You know, I haven't shown any signs of developing any ability either. Even after eight years stuck in this advance city of science and technology, I've never as much as shown a little bump of improvement in my SYSTEM Scans. Not as much as a millimeter of potential to show for all my hard work." she said wistfully as a sudden gust of wind blew past to cast her curled platinum locks along with the breeze. A bitter expression fell over her face.

"This city has deemed us as zeroes, without any worth even after all the time and money they've spent on making us something more than human. Those atop us all have permanently designated a number of value on us to stick like a stigmata. And that stigmata changes everything, showing everyone what our value in this world truly is. Even those who've said to love you more than the world itself eventually come to see just what you're really worth to them, enough to even abandon you in the world that deems you as worthless and no use."

Touma frowned disapprovingly. He knew how Level 0's were treated. Even with only a good two weeks worth of memories he knew perfectly well what others saw in Level 0s. They were oppressed by those with actual power. Seen as lesser. Deemed nothing and worthless. They were waste of space that were only good for doing work that real Espers didn't have time for. In this world they had created for themselves, they were the background characters who were never thought twice about. Zeroes were the fodder in this city, and they should know their place.

To hear such negativity from others who weren't in that position was one thing. But hearing it from another Level 0 who seemed to whole heartily believe all the nonsense left a grainy, bitter taste in Touma's mouth.

"You don't actually believe that, do you?"

The foreign girl blinked at the strong and firm words from her fellow Level-0. She found her eyes on those bold dark orbs staring back at her with a ferocity she hadn't caught earlier. Seeing such strong will left her silent as he continued.

"Academy City may hand out numbers to everyone who resides in the city based on their ability, but it's not responsible for the value we have ourselves. No one but those who truly matter can give you value as a human. The people that have been with you from start to present, the one's who've faced hardship after hardship right by your side, the one's who were always there to lend you a hand and pick you up from whatever the world throws at you, those are the people who are allowed to say how much you matter. A machine may be capable of understanding complex equations and algorithms beyond even human understanding, but no matter how intelligent it may be, it can never find the definitive value you're worth." Staring down at his right hand, Touma's face grew a scowl of irritation as he spoke.

He would be lying if he never felt irritated for being a Level 0. The city was comprised mostly of Level 0, true, but that large percentage was overshadowed by the small majority that were real Espers. Even if he had been Kamijou Touma for two weeks, he had seen that discrimination first hand whenever he stumbled upon an Esper picking on a Level 0, or even someone with an ability lower than their own. Every time he had run in to save that one person being harassed by said Esper, they all looked at him as if he was a piece of trash that had rolled by once he declared his Level. And every time their faces would fall into pure disbelief and panic as his right hand shattered their weak illusions.

"Something as silly as an ability doesn't give you meaning. It's up to you to find that value for yourself with your own hands, not the hands of any supernatural power that resides within you."

"Do you really believe that? That you're worth more than what this world has labeled you as?"

Touma stared back at the sudden cold, lifeless, pale green eyes of a fellow Level 0 who whole heartily believed the words of those who looked down upon them. He couldn't help but grit his teeth inwardly.

Was some lousy number. . .really that important to everyone? Did such a thing really determine what others saw in one another? Did a number handed down by machines really have that much power over others? In the end, was it some single digit numerical number in charge of how important or special you were as a human being?

Was one fucking number, really, really, really that important?

"If that kind of world says I'm a Level 0, someone without any kind of power to do anything or any worth, than I'll just shatter that arrogant illusion."

For several moments the two Level-0's stood silent. Only the sound of the passing breeze interrupted the sudden quite space. Eventually, the platinum haired girl broke the silence with a giggle. That giggle erupted into a laugh that nearly doubled her over. Touma stared at the strange girl as she held her stomach with her pale face growing red. He could even spy a few tears in the corner of her eyes.

"W-Who do you think you are?! A-A S-Shonen protagonist of his own m-manga!?" she exclaimed between fits of laughter.

Annoyance painted itself over Touma's face. Nice, he bears his soul and his honest feelings to a complete stranger and he gets laughed at like he was some clown performing some joke. Just his typical luck acting up he supposed. On the bright side he had at least brought the platinum girl out of her own self loathing thoughts as a Level 0.

Fighting to control her giggles, the platinum haired foreign girl took a moment to clean the tears from her eyes before smirking in amusement.

"It must be nice, to be so ignorant and carefree despite being someone without any power. It's adorable. I kinda feel like I'm talking to a middle schooler who think's he's the lead character in his own epic fantasy, only for him to be brought back down to earth from sheer embarrassment. Tell me, do you have your own catch phrase and pose too?"

Despite how ticked off he still was at having a pretty girl laugh in his face and call him strange, Touma shrugged lazily. The action brought a quirked brow of curiosity from the girl.

"It's not that I think I'm anything special either. I'm just your average high schooler. I wake up late almost every morning due to some unfortunate inconvenience, run to school with a slice of buttered toast in my mouth, go to class and try to pass my exams despite being an idiot, search for the latest discounts for groceries, deal with a roommate who I'm beginning to suspect is the human embodiment of a black hole, and occasionally get into some trouble with some unsavory individuals. I'm no different than any other student in that regard." Touma explained casually before mildly flinching from a sudden ache in his right hand's wrist. His dark eyes glanced at said hand, glaring silently as he spoke firmly. Almost as if he was addressing two issues closely tied together.

Imagine Breaker. An ability that wasn't recognized by this 'world' that labeled him as a zero. A useless phenomenon that canceled out not only an Esper's ability but magic. It brought Touma nothing but misfortune on a daily basis, it's power negating even god's blessing, the very aspect of luck itself. One could say it was responsible for all the trouble he had found himself in since he woke up with no memories of who he was. It was a curse, a stigmata, just like the number zero Academy City had marked him as. And both of them could be said to affect him and control his fate as a person, as a human.

What complete bull crap.

"They don't control my life. What I do with how I live, how I treat others, and how I want to be seen, has nothing to do with either! I could be below Zero, a number that makes nothing seem like a billion, and it wouldn't affect my worth as a human being! Because I make up my own worth! My friends decide my value! If given the choice between being labeled as even a Level 6, 7, 8, or 9, I would happily chose to remain a 0! Because in the end, it really doesn't matter!"

Those words, the words of a zero without any worth, were firm and unrelenting. The tone of voice didn't tremble, didn't stutter, didn't whisper, and didn't fall. They were strong, stubborn, and fierce. They were enough to cause the platinum haired foreign girl to falter visibly, almost causing her to step back as she looked up at the spiky haired boy in disbelief. She scowled lightly, seeming to fight against something she had just witnessed and could feel overpowering her own ideals.

How? How could some Level 0 possibly say such things? He was the same as her, right? Someone who couldn't develop any power despite all the years of trying over and over again without any show of worth. The zero in front of her had failed too, right? He couldn't possibly be alright with others calling him worthless, a waste of money and effort, a failure as an Esper? If he was like her, than he was obviously lying!

. . .Right?

The platinum haired foreigner scoffed irritably, turning her face away from the clearly out of his mind zero. As if he actually believed being a Level 0 wasn't a big deal. He was most likely one of the lucky one's, a zero who hardly ever struggled because of his status, drawing the lucky straw to live his life without dealing with all the negatives of being an actual zero. An abnormality. Someone who had no idea how hard it was to live with such a curse. They had an expression for that.

"Ignorance is bliss, I suppose." she said softly before her eyes went wide at the sound of a cellphone jingle. Casually, she flipped her skirt up ever so slightly to reach for her cell strapped to her thighs. The action caused Touma to blush before a concerning frown marred his face.

No healthy high school boy could blame him for his eyes peeking at the flash of skin shown from a skirt flip. It was as natural as rain on a dark cloudy day. But he had seen more than a flash of creamy thighs and red panties. Several concealed firearms were also hidden from any prying eyes. He wasn't even sure how he hadn't notice all the deadly firearms she had down under.

The platinum haired foreigner flipped her phone open, her eyes narrowing at a message on the screen before sighing in frustration. Whatever she had read hadn't made her happy. Her pale green eyes glanced over at Touma. She seemed to have come to a decision before snapping her phone shut. A small smile made its way to her face.

"You are a strange one, Kamijou-san. I would so much like to continue this discussion in more detail, maybe even enlighten you to what the world truly think's of our kind. But it seems I have to return to some very important matters. I'm sure you yourself have to continue with your own business."

Touma smacked his own face suddenly. Right, he almost forgot about Index and Angela! Thank god Index wasn't around. The last thing he needed was a nun biting down on his head like he was some chew toy. Standing back up, he was glad to have had some small moment of peace. He felt energized now. And his wounds had been patched up nicely. Too bad about his favorite orange shirt, it was torn into and exposed his bandaged chest. Hastily buttoning up his uniform shirt with what buttons remained, Touma turned back to the strange girl with a grateful smile.

"Thanks again for treating my injuries. You know, you didn't have to do that for some random stranger."

The platinum haired foreigner shrugged indifferently.

"You didn't seem like a bad person and you were hurt. I was just being a good samaritan." she said as if it wasn't any big deal.

In reality, she actually had her own reasons for approaching the spiky haired boy who looked no different than the countless other delinquents that crawled among the thugs in District 10. But he didn't need to know that. It was better that he thought she did it out of the kindness of her heart.

Tapping her chin in thought, she turned back to Touma with a thoughtful hum.

"If I recall correctly, you were trying to find your friends?" Seeing him nod, she smiled, "Well, why don't you try the Food Tower? Those who know better than to wander the streets of this district would head over there since it's considered neutral ground between all the Skill-Outs, almost like a haven. I'm sure if they were hungry too that they would head there for something to eat."

That was it! Touma smacked his fist onto his hand with a grin at the news. If there was anywhere Index would be, and vice versa Angela, it would be anywhere with food! And Angela had a good head on her shoulders. He was sure that if she knew anything about this district, which she seemed to since she was knowledgeable about the many others, she would steer the girls to the food tower for safety. All they would have to do was wait for him to find them, or find some way to call his phone. He was sure Index had memorized his cell's number after sharing it with her in case of emergencies.

"Great idea! Even with this Kamijou's bad luck, I'm sure I'll find them there!" he said with a burst of energy. If all went well, he wouldn't have deal with anymore trouble if he just headed straight for the Food Tower. And while he didn't know the in's and out's of the district, all he needed to do was look for directions on his cell. Hopefully by the time they all made it back to the tram, the train would finally arrive.

"Just be sure that once you find them, you leave immediately. Otherwise you'll find yourself stuck in the middle of a warzone."

In the middle of a what?

Touma frowned at the words he must have misheard. He turned back to the strange girl only to find her missing. When did she leave? And how? He didn't hear her footsteps leaving the area at all.

"Warzone? Why the hell would she say something like that? Even if this district is known for housing Skill-Out, it's the last place to be thrown into some stupid war. What would they even fight about?" Touma thought to himself as he scratched his cheek. A sudden thought popped up in that moment that sent a chill down his spine.

How did she know his name?

Well, now wasn't the time to be thinking of a strange girl's words. He had two nuns to find and quick. Staring ahead at where the platinum haired girl had once been, Touma turned his back to the park and returned to his search for his friends.

* * *

"Are you sure you've located Dr. Tatsumi's whereabouts? The afternoon is approaching and our window of opportunity is drawing thin."

Cell against her left ear, the strange platinum foreign girl walked the littered streets of the district with a prominent scowl on her face. The voice on the other end of the line grew silent before responding gruffly.

"Yes, I believe so. I've been trailing them for some time now but lost track of them for a moment. Though I believe I know just where they are heading towards. If they are hiding from your hired goons, then it would be the best place to lay low." her partner informed her, bringing a vicious grin to her face.

"How long will it take before you've extracted the key from our dear scientist?"

"I'll have it back to you in less than an hour. Fourty tops if I run into anymore Skill-Outs that cross my path, Mila-san."

The platinum foreign girl known as Mila was over the moon with joy. She was practically skipping down the empty aging road.

"I knew it was a great idea to seek out your help, Deadlock-kun!"

The one known as Deadlock chuckled in amusement.

"My services are always open to those who wish to punish Level 5s. Especially for one who plans to free us all from the influence of those monsters." he said with raw seething hate.

"Oh, Deadlock-kun! It's much more than killing a pompous Level 5!" Mila admonished with a flail of her hand. She was grinning ear to ear by now, "Its about establishing our own worth in their world of numbers! It's about showing them that we Level 0s are nothing to be scoffed at or swept under the rug like dirt. And what better way than bringing down the very System that created us? Oh, how humiliating it would be for the higher ups to find the very system they worshiped brought down by the very Espers it itself said were harmless? Killing a few Espers, and if possible a Level 5, would simply be the icing on the savory eclair!"

Mayhem. Pure, unadulterated mayhem created by a meager Level 0. One that would leave behind a mangled pile of Level 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, and if they were any lucky, the greatest of all prizes, a Level 5. The streets would be in chaos not because of an out of control Esper with an ability and an over-inflated ego, but because of an Esper with no ability to speak of. And it wouldn't be because of a gang of zeroes grouping up together in a pathetic attempt to show their none existent strength, but because of one lone zero who decided to show all those who labeled them as nothing what they were screwing with. It would be a display of the true potential those labeled as zeroes was capable. One that they wouldn't be forgetting after today. To prove that their precious system was nothing but a lie.

In short, it was all about payback. Revenge, oh so sweet, it deserved a place atop of a sundae.

To achieve this dream of hers and take the revenge she was denied from for so long, Mila would need a special weapon that would allow her to go against even a Level 5. Such a thing would no doubt exist in Academy City since their prized trophies were widely known to not have the best mental fortitude's. Inventions such as the Level Downer were prime examples of methods the city had developed to reign in any out of control Espers. So it stands to reason that those who created the monsters known as 5's would have thought to create a weapon or device to go toe to toe with the freaks. To stop their rampages. To shackle them. To kill them.

There had to be.

Mila had researched for any methods that were developed to contain a Level 5. Of course such a subject was hidden under levels upon levels of encrypted data that were locked away from the eyes of the general public. For months Mila had tried to break the encrypted locks that held the secret to her revenge against the system that ruined her once quaint life to no avail. No amount of hacking could put a dent on the security. At least until one stormy night a few days ago.

On a night that rained lightning powerful enough to shake the earth of Academy City, she had stumbled upon an unconscious blond haired boy who had found himself napping in a pile of trash. And her fate had been changed in one night.

Miracles weren't a concept Mila believed in. Such things were illogical in a city that praised knowledge and understanding. But a miracle had fallen onto her that night. When Mila had been ready to give up and accept her fate as a zero, the world had thrown her a bone. Her new friend had shared a lot with her that night once she had brought him back to her dorm to escape the rain. To repay her kindness, her friend had helped her to achieve the wish she had held in her heart for so long. And with his help, her friend had helped her to bypass Academy City's heavily guarded security in a single night for a certain piece of information she had been seeking.

During the summer, a certain event had transpired at the hands of of a scientist known as Kiyama Harumi who had created a network of brainwaves and AIM diffusion fields known as The Level Upper Network. In thanks to the help of the Number 3 Railgun, the network was shutdown before anymore harm could be done to anymore students. And their was much rejoicing. But that left a question, didn't it? Just what happened to the remains of the network that allowed even a useless Level 0 to control multiple abilities from the Espers connected to it? This was a city of research, of development and inventing. Something as ingenious as granting someone Multi-Skill wouldn't just be thrown away. Would it?

In the hidden logs of information within Academy City's data banks, Mila had found the remains of the network. And just where the researchers who snatched the tools for it had stashed it away to further improve it. Her simple plan to counter a Level 5 became so much more. All in thanks of her new and only friend.

Feeling herself in a very happy mood, Mila decided to ask her temporary partner a question.

"By the way, have you decided on what reward you wanted for working alongside me yet? The others were easy, all I needed were some Bank Cards to sweeten the pot and they happily followed along! But you have yet to ask for anything. Tell me, what does the great and moody Deadlock-kun wish from the girl who will bring down Academy City's reality!?" she sang gleefully.

Deadlock went silent for only a moment.

"If you are truly capable of destroying this system controlled by those Level 5's, than there is nothing more that I could ever ask for."

Mila nodded without so much as a thought. So, she was right about her mercenary friend. Money didn't interest him, nor did fame, or even recognition. Like her, all he wanted was revenge against the system of power that made them useless to the world.

"Than hurry up~! I want to get the fireworks started as soon as possible!"

Done with her chat, Mila shut her cell and reached for another object strapped to her thighs. She had done more than treat the plain faced high school boy, having stealthy snatched a certain item from his person while he was distracted. She held a black leather wallet, simple and aged as if it had gone through several unfortunate encounters. Opening it up revealed a few notes of Yen and a student ID. A rather bland face greeted her with a head of spiky black hair and indifferent dark blue eyes.

A melancholic smile tugged at Mila's lips. In away, it had been nice to meet Kamijou Touma. He honestly seemed to be a normal Level 0 who simply wanted to live his life as best he could. Unlike the others like him, he didn't care about the number forever stamped on his life. If anything, he was just a bit naive and hopeful.

"If we had met another time, maybe I would have stuck around to listen to you a bit more. Who knows? Maybe we could have been friends. Having someone as bright as you would have been nice to have in the dark, especially back then." Mila said wistfully as she stared at the face of the odd Level 0.

Too bad. She was finally close to finally having her revenge on the system that ruined her life. There was no turning back now. Especially for some high school boy. Even if he was kinda cute.

* * *

The Food Tower, or as it was officially known, The Food Stand Spire, wasn't exactly what one would imagine it when hearing of its name. In actuality it was a parking garage facility that went as high as an office tower in the city, that's main use for is parking RVs and vans like you would find in a major western cities. It was never meant to be used for anything else since it wasn't designed for any other use than parking vehicles. And yet those who resided in District 10 had found a much better use for it than parking vehicles that would never leave the garage. No one exactly knows who had been the first to set up a food stand in a garage facility of all places, but it had somehow sent a trend.

Many believe it was a gang that had taken over the building and set up their own food stand to stand above and reside at the very top floor. Others thought some nobody just said 'Fuck it!' and built their stand there. And some even believed that a stand just popped up out of nowhere, forever haunting the empty car storage building before summoning more food stands like some specter. Whatever the origins, the building known as Garage Facility #6 had been taken over by several groups to be now known as The Food Stand Spire.

Those on the outside, such as Anti-Skill didn't so much as raise a finger to stop the goons, thugs, and delinquents from transforming the garage into a place to vend food. Compared to the many other illegal activities they had done, it was the most beneficial. The spire became a kind of neutral ground between all those who resided in District 10, a common place for them all to relax and forget about the troubles of being Level 0s and the gang violence outside. It was a haven, one of the only few they could ever find in Academy City. Honestly there was no reason to crack down on the Skill-Outs who protected the spire since they kept the peace.

Of course since it was in District 10, the Food Stand Spire wasn't very welcoming to any Espers, true Espers with abilities, that would for some odd reason walk in. Even if it was for a bottle of water. It was a safe zone from those who belittled them after all. Any Esper above 0 would be turned away. Or beat up. Possibly shot right in the face.

Thankfully, Index and Angela weren't Espers. As far as anyone knew they were Level 0s too. And zeroes were more than welcome to grab a bite at the spire. Along with their guests.

It had taken her a while, but Angela had finally reached Toka and the white suited man in her care. The second her hand had latched onto the unruly dark haired girl's collar, she hadn't let go. Ignoring the protests of the girl and the suited man, Angela had dragged them along with her to the only real safe location in District 10. Which is where they could be found now.

It was on the third floor of the spire that the group consisting of Angela, Index, Toka, and Dr. Tatsumi found themselves resting. Like the other floors, several abandoned vehicles were parked here and there, but the rest of the area housed multiple food stands with a different selection of meals along with picnic tables spread out for those dining in to enjoy their meals. Each level held their own unique catering of food with the higher ups being more specific and high end. The level they were on though served plenty of cheap fast food. That a certain disgruntled scientist turned hostage had to pay.

Finding an unoccupied table, the small group settled down before ordering some food. Once the tray full of burgers, fries, and shakes arrived, Angela finally decided to question her friend for her odd behavior from before.

"Why did you run, Toka! Do you even know how long I've been searching for you and the others!? Like four days! And here you are running around District 10 like some delinquent! Don't tell me you've finally started to take after our father!" Angela went off angrily as she aimed a wagging fry at at the frowning high school girl.

Toka huffed, looking away from the more mature nun of the party with her eyes shut. It was clear she didn't want to speak to Angela.

While stuffing herself with a fistful of fries and slurping down a strawberry milkshake, Index blinked as she caught something interesting from Angela's nagging.

"Sister? Angela-san, you have a sister?" Index asked before leaning across the table to stare at the supposed sister of the Sister.

Well they did seem to have several features that connected the two. More specifically their eyes. There was also something else Index couldn't put her finger on that seemed familiar when she put the two girls together.

Toka glanced back at Index, showing off a bewildered expression for a split second that the silver haired nun's perfect memory had caught. Someone seemed to be really surprised.

 _'Holy hell! That's the big breasted Archbishop with a silver tongue who helped us get here!? She's so tiny!'_

Coughing into her fist, Toka finally responded back to her sister.

"Calm down, Angie-chan! It's not like I'm the first one you've found." Toka waved off nonchalantly.

Angela scowled, looking down sadly.

"Actually, you are. I haven't been able to find the others since I got here. Not even Hana-kun. You're the first one I've found since we were dropped off here." she said softly.

Toka flinched back. Seems her father did rub off on her more than she cared to admit. The thought of said father caused her to inwardly grit her teeth. No, now wasn't the time for that. Not when one of her sisters was finally found in this world.

"Jeez, I'm sorry, okay? I really didn't mean to make light of your feelings. It's just been a really crazy day. Or crazy days." Toka chuckled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head.

Index found herself staring more and more at the new girl. Was it weird that she pictured Touma with the same mannerisms? She narrowed her eyes slightly. There was something else now that she got a good look at Toka's eyes.

Angela huffed, relenting a second later with a tired sigh. Yeah, she knew that things were probably the same with the others. They were a certain Imagine Breaker's children after all. Finding themselves in troubling situations came with the blood. At the subject of crazy day, her eyes glanced at the unhappy man in white suit next to Toka. The well combed man sat in silence, eating his burger without saying as much as a greeting to either Angela or Index when they had arrived. He was well off keeping to himself. Though he did show some annoyance that Toka kept one hand gripped tightly on his sleeve like he was some dog on a leash. The twitch in his eye also spoke of how felt as a high school girl refused to let him go.

"Does this craziness have to do with the man you won't let go of? You know father wouldn't be happy with how close you are to some stranger. Especially after he found you running around the streets with him, out of breath, sweating, with your clothes disheveled. You really don't seem like you want to let him go." Angela said coyly with a smirk.

Toka's eyes twitched and the well dressed man actually choked on his meal.

"Aren't you suppose to be a nun? Aren't those kinds of thoughts against your pious image!"

"Please, don't label me as some kind of perverse character. I am a man of much finer tastes!" the well suited man scoffed.

Angela looked away discretely as she sipped her shake, "You are at that age."

"What do you mean at that age?! Explain right now what the hell you mean! As if there is any age where a girl would go fooling around with some strange man in gang territory!"

There was.

Scratching the back of her head more furiously from irritation, Toka finally decided to explain her situation to clear up her slightly older sister's pestering.

"The guy next to me is Dr. Tatsumi, some nuclear scientist that works in one of the nuclear facilities in District 10. I bumped into him earlier this morning on the tram ride back to District 7. For some odd reason though, the tram was switched over to this district and we found ourselves abandoned here along with a few other passengers." Toka explained as she leaned on her propped hand. Much to Dr. Tatsumi ire, she refused to let go of him, "Apparently there was some kind of error in the system and we would have to wait until the next tram arrived to go back. Unfortunately for us though, a group of Skill-Outs took notice of us, or more importantly the few Espers in the group, and attacked. At least that's what I thought. Once they attacked, everyone scrambled and I noticed that the thugs were actually going after one person in particular. This guy right here." she jerked her head to the scientist who scowled as all eyes on the table landed on him.

Dr. Tatsumi breathed out his nose in a vein attempt to calm himself down, "First of all, I am not some lowly scientist character, I am THEE scientist character in charge of the greatest facility! And I would very much appreciate it if you were to let go of my arm. Otherwise others would get the wrong idea." he hissed to no avail. "Tsk, if my wife and son were to see me now! How would I explain it to them that some high school delinquent girl character won't let go of me in a seedy district!?"

Toka didn't seem to care of the scientist's innocence as she continued, "No one else was going to help him, they all left him at the mercy of a bunch of delinquents. So, I stood up and helped him escape from the Skill-Outs. Since then, we've been chased after by some gang that's hellbent on capturing the doctor. He probably pissed off the wrong thug or something." she shrugged.

Dr. Tatsumi bristled at the comment. He wouldn't deny that he may or may not have thrown a few comments at a few Skill-Out's every once in a while. Especially since he worked in District 10 where they littered the streets and abandoned buildings. He was really starting to regret taking the job to man the nuclear facility.

Angela nodded in some kind of understanding as if this wasn't the first time she had heard of such a thing happening to the high school girl across from her. In fact a small smile came over her face.

"So, you ran off to play the hero? I guess the others were right, you are the one who takes the most after our father." she said fondly. Angela frowned, remembering how they found themselves here in the first place, "That reminds me. Why did you runaway?" she asked, careful not to mention Toka running away at the sight of Touma.

At that, Toka scowled again. She looked down in hopes of hiding her expression.

"Can we not talk about that here? I think that's something best saved for later when we leave District 10." she pleaded bitterly.

Angela wasn't happy with the answer. But she understood. It wasn't exactly a fitting setting to talk about their father out in the open when one of their mother's was literally right next to them. She sighed and nodded grudgingly. At least she found one of her many siblings. That was a start at least.

"Fine. But you're coming back home with us! No buts!" Angela shouted stubbornly as Toka visibly recoiled. The high school girl with a head of unruly hair grumbled, showing hesitation. She nodded stiffly in the end, showing she wasn't exactly happy with going but accepted it for now.

Index was in the same boat, grumbling something about freeloaders. Great, another girl was coming over to her home! Not even when Touma was around, he still ended up in one way or another dragging another girl into the mix. It wasn't fair! It was only suppose to be the two of them. Angela, she could stand since the older girl was kind and shared her love for the lord along with her. But now some other girl was no doubt going to fall head over heels for Touma. She just knew it!

A sudden tingle caught Index off guard. A trickle of mana flowed in the air like some faint odor. Following the odd faint magic, Index found that it came from Toka of all people. Her eyes went wide as she caught a flicker of foreign magic originate from Toka's pupil.

 _'What was that? Toka-san is an Esper, just like Touma, so she shouldn't posses magic. But there's something there that I can't put my finger on. It's magic, no doubt, but none that I've ever encountered. It's some kind of new age magic, one that must have been created recently. It's. . .Greek in nature, I think? Ugh, this is going to drive me crazy!'_ Index thought in frustration.

As the holder of 103,000 forbidden texts that would taint the mind of any other magician, Index was more than capable of identifying spells and magics at just a glance. Even the lingering effects of a spell were not impossible for her to identify and name. Her perfect memory literally made her an index on everything magical in the world. But what she was finding was something unknown even to her.

She would have to speak with Angela about this later. Finding some kind of spell affecting Toka was more than concerning. Hopefully this didn't mean that some magician was after the girl. The last thing they needed now was fighting off another rogue magician.

"What should we do now?" Index asked abruptly, setting down the large burger as her thoughts turned to a certain spiky haired boy, "We lost Touma when we ran after Toka-san. And he doesn't know where we are. We can't just leave without him either. I don't really want to think about what kind of trouble he would get into if he were to stay in a place as dangerous as this."

"That's simple! We wait for him right here!" Angela exclaimed brightly.

Toka grumbled, her eyes on her older sister with skeptical, "Really? Do you really think he of all people will just wander over here? I don't think he knows much about this district and none of you have a cell, right?"

"Oh dear, simple, and naive sister! Have you no faith in our father?"

"Honestly? No."

"Father?" Index blinked, rightfully confused as the two girl's flinched back.

Angela laughed nervously at the slip of the tongue.

"Of course, our holy father! I'm sure our lord would guide Kamijou-san to our location! Right?" she said in hopes of covering up her accidental slip up.

Index hummed in doubt, "I'm not so sure about that. Miracles of god don't work on Touma. I'm not even sure that god's guidance would work the same either."

Okay, that was good. Index didn't question it and bought the lie. Sighing in relief, Angela none the less smiled confidently.

"Possibly, but I have no doubt that he would find us here! Because if there is one place he would ever begin to look for us at, it would be-"

"INDEX! ANGELA-SAN!"

"Here."

The familiar shout brought all the heads of the table spinning around to find a certain panting high school boy with spiky black hair running over to them. Surprise came over the girl's faces, except for Angela. Because she knew without a hint of a doubt that her father would find them all in this exact location. After all, her mother was with them. And what better place to search for Index than a building that housed hundreds of food stands?

"Touma!" Abandoning her food, Index shot up from her seat and dashed after her caretaker. She grinned happily, nearly knocking him back as she tackled the unlucky boy with a hug.

Touma grunted at the silver haired sister's embrace. His wounds were treated, but they still hurt. Having a girl hug his chest wasn't exactly a welcome experience right now. His discomfort caught they eyes of Angela as she dragged along Toka and by extent Dr. Tatsumi over. The raven haired nun didn't look pleased with his state. Even Toka subtly frowned before looking away.

"Kamijou-san! What happened to you?!" Angela demanded like a mother who caught her son coming back from a fight. Which wasn't wrong.

"I'd like to know that myself." Touma scowled as he pried Index off of him and walked over to both Toka and Dr. Tatsumi. He wasn't happy, staring at the two who were in some way responsible for the thugs he had fought, "Any reason why a bunch of guys are literally hunting you two down? Because I've just had to deal with some Skill-Outs that were desperately after you two and didn't care if they wound up hurting anyone else in the process. If this was simply me involved, I wouldn't have cared. But when you drag my friends into it, I do care." he said said sternly with such force even Dr. Tatsumi found himself stepping back slightly.

Half an hour. For the past half hour, Touma had been running around a district that looked like it had been abandoned and popularly known as gang territory, after fighting five thugs and suffering a fair amount of wounds at their hands. He was tired, hurt, irritated, and anxious. It was safe to say that he wasn't exactly in a good mood right now. Touma was human, so even he would lose his patience. Especially when the person who was responsible for having him run around District 10 like a marathon runner was staring at him with indifference. Almost as if he was just some bug that had crawled out under her foot that she didn't wish to deal with.

Toka met Touma's irritated scowl with her own. She didn't back down. She didn't explain herself. She simply refused to bow down to the stern glare she found herself under.

"What does it matter? You found your friends, now you can go home. There's no reason you need to get yourself involved any further. Someone like you, who has no real power whatsoever, shouldn't concern himself with us. You're not some hero. So, stop acting like you are." Toka bristled. Touma narrowed his eyes at her tone.

He knew that tone all too well. It was the same tone he heard from other Espers whenever he butted into their business. Like they were better than him. The girl right in front of him was no different it seemed. When she looked at him, she could only see some idiot who was way over his head. All she could see was a nobody who could only do more harm than good.

To her, Touma was just some pest.

"There are people after you and your friend there. And they might be Level 0s, but that doesn't stop them from overwhelming you or hunting you down like prey. Even if you're an Esper with some kind of abi-"

"I don't have an ability." Toka interrupted Touma bluntly, catching him by surprise as she crossed her arms over her modest chest, "I'm just a Level 0. No power to speak of whatsoever. Just like you."

Touma found his fists tightening in frustration. She didn't have an ability? What the hell?! Then why was she acting so arrogant? Did she somehow believe that she could take on an entire gang all by herself? She was just some high school girl! What could she possibly do? Without even an ability, even one that could be labeled as Level 1, than she didn't have a chance against them. And she had the vain belief that she didn't need any help? She was an idiot!

And for some reason, it pissed him off. For reasons Touma couldn't understand clearly, it really pissed him of that this random girl he had never seen before, believed she could handle whatever trouble was chasing her all alone.

"And you think you can outrun a gang of thugs who have no problem fighting some little girl with knives and guns?! You can't be so stubborn or full of yourself to think that you can even fight them without an ability or skill! Do you think you can save anyone thinking like that!? What are you, an idiot!?"

Toka's eyes snapped with anger as she got into Touma's face. He found himself taken back suddenly, finding such raw anger and hate pointed at him. Had he said something he shouldn't have? Once again, his mouth spoke before he could clearly think. He was further taken back as Toka reached for the collar of his blood stained shirt with both hands, forgetting about the man she was protecting as she shouted furiously at the unfortunate teen.

"What about you!? If I'm some kind of idiot, than you're the god of idiots! You don't have any kind of ability either and you still go running around the fucking world like some kind of stupid savior! Playing hero to random people who cry out for help, but ignoring the people who truly need you back home! AS IF YOU HAVE FUCKING GRAIN OF RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING WHEN YOU WERE NEVER FUCKING EVEN THERE!"

Touma was speechless as he felt some unknown guilty knot grow in his stomach. What did she say? Playing hero, running around the world, never being there? Was she. . .was she really someone from his past? Was she really someone he had abandon in the wake of his lost memories on that fateful day? He found himself struck with a heavy sense of regret and gnawing guilt, finding it growing as he found tears growing in the corner of Toka's eyes.

He had no idea what to do. Those eyes hated him. And a part of him felt horrible that those eyes could ever hold such an emotion for him. Slowly and with hesitation, he found his arm reaching for the arms currently gripping onto him for dear life as if he would vanish forever if she let go.

Unknown to either party, the arm reaching for Toka was his right. The had that dispels all that didn't belong in this world. The breaker of illusions.

An odd whine and the sound of shattering glass echoed in the garage food stand floor. Even the delinquents that were discretely watching the odd scene play out in the middle of the floor were surprised to hear such an otherworldly sound pierce the tense atmosphere. Only three people understood what the sound signaled.

It was then that Index fully noticed the odd flow of magic she had sensed on Toka's person. From the girl's shoulders, a dark and corrupted miasma of magical energy spewed out from her body by the rejecting nature of Touma's Imagine Breaker like a gushing wound. The magic seemed to disperse into the air, like a small ink dye in a lake of water that vanished into nothing.

An odd glazed look fell over Toka's eyes at Touma's touch. He grew worried as she nearly fell out of his grip as her body became weak. Her hands fell off of him, falling to her side as she toppled forward. Reacting quickly, he moved to catch her as her head dropped on his bandaged chest. He winced but focused on the girl's odd reaction.

"T. . .Tou-san?"

Touma frowned as he caught the dream like murmur from the high school girl. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he had a feeling it had to do with something supernatural. Why else would his Imagine Breaker react? At least he had rid whatever may have come over her. Her voice sounded softer and more earnest. He couldn't help but smile as he found himself patting the girl's back. He'd ignored the embarrassing fact Toka called some stranger father for now.

"It's alright. You're fine now."

Whatever the reason, the girl known as Toka's expression grew brightly as a few tears dropped. Her arms fell around his waist, hugging him closer as her consciousness began to abandon her. Suddenly she felt tired. Incredibly tired. She fell asleep in the arms of a man who she had lost, who had meant the world to her before said world was reduced to flames.

 _'Tou-san. . .You're alive.'_

Touma scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do now. Well, this was certainly strange. It wasn't often that he found some high school girl calling him father and falling asleep in his arms. As if he was some kids father. He was only sixteen! He was still a virgin!

. . .Wasn't he? Oh, that was one memory he now wished he could remember! Of course if that wasn't the case it would be just his kind of luck to end up a virgin again! If he wasn't already. God damned memory loss!

Angela wiped a tear off from her eyes while also snatching the back of Dr. Tatsumi's collar as he tried to sneak away. It would be better for them if they left the man to go about his own way back to District 7, but he was being hunted down. Her father taught her better than to turn away from someone in trouble. Even if they refused to ask for it.

She did frown at what she had seen though, _'Was that some kind of magic spell? Is that the reason Toka's been acting weird whenever I mention our father? But who could have done that and why?'_

Questions she would have to mull over later.

Moving over to the two, Angela helped Touma by releasing Toka's grip on him. Seeing as she was the older of the two siblings, she positioned Toka over her shoulders in a piggy back ride. Her sister was light and despite being a nun, Angela wasn't no slouch. She could confidently admit that she was the physically strongest nun back home.

"I think we've had enough drama for today. How about we all begin heading over to the tram? It's the least we can do for you, Dr. Tatsumi." Angela said as she looked over at the still scowling scientist, "Or do you really think you'll fair better walking the streets of District 10 while some shady group of delinquents hunts you down?"

Dr. Tatsumi grunted but showed no signs of arguing. He sighed, relaxing enough to allow Angela to let go of her grip.

"I suppose we are all heading that way anyways. And it would not do well to allow children to roam the streets of a gang territory without an adult. I'm not the kind of character to abandon a child." he relented.

Still not completely understanding what was happening around him, Touma shrugged. He just wanted to go home. Hopefully they wouldn't have to deal with anymore thugs chasing them down. He'd like to think he dealt with the guys intent on that already.

With everyone in agreement, the small party began to move out to head towards the tram station once again.

At least that had been the plan. If not for a voice breaking through the garage and catching a certain unfortunate teen to lock up in place.

"Kamijou Touma? So, I was right in believing that you would somehow be involved in this. I'm starting to feel a little nostalgic actually. Because this really does bring back memories."

At the stairwell leading down to next level below the garage, an odd teen stepped up to meet the group leaving for the tram. The teen was dressed in a full bodied red suit with various skating wheels on his body, small jets on his back and wrist, and a crimson motorcycle helmet shielding his face. To everyone's confusion, a pile bunker was mounted on his right shoulder.

The teen stepped closer to the group, his eyes behind his helmet locked solely on Touma's as his body reacted on its own in a defensive stance.

 _'What the hell?'_ Touma didn't mean to show any kind of hostility. But the very sight of the red suited teen caused his body to react. His fists were already clenched tight.

"Who are you?" Touma demanded, causing the red suited boy to pause.

The suited man boy remained silent before releasing a grudging sigh. His shoulders lost their tension as if he had come to accept some kind of outcome that had been weighing over him. The loss of weight didn't seem to make him pleased in the slightest. His voice was soft like a small gust of wind that spoke of bitterness and resentment.

"So, I was right. She did end up throwing you to the side once it was all over with. You don't even recognize the man who had you at death's door. Or of the Queen Diver suit that was responsible for drilling you with multiple holes." he chuckled lowly with melancholy.

Touma's eyes grew in alarm as he found himself stepping back out of reflex. Death's door? Who was this guy?

"Touma?" Index said worriedly as he eased the girls back from the stranger taking another step closer to their group. She gripped his arm, noticing he had begun to tremble.

The man in the Queen Diver suit was only a few spaces away from Touma's party. He stopped and stared at the anxiously scowling teen who had been responsible for the failure and the destruction of his organization's goals. Someone who had found themselves the enemy of the unlucky boy would no doubt be filled with rage, anger, fury, and want nothing more than to seek revenge for losing at the hands of some normal high school boy. But he was different. He was one of the few enemies who found respect at the boy's actions and beliefs that had overpowered his own.

Kamijou Touma was a boy worthy of respect. He was someone who he believed was what an ideal Level 0 should be. Someone who fought for their rights and virtues without any ability. In some other time, he could say that the two of them could have been friends.

Unfortunately, this world called for them to once again be enemies. This world altered and manipulated the presence of seven monsters that stood above the city in their own worlds that they changed by their mere breaths. A world that the unlucky high school boy had allowed by fighting against those who wished to free this world from their influence.

The boy in the Queen Diver suit had abandoned his name long ago, finding it worthless in the city under the unconscious control of Level 5s. In memory of his goals and intentions, he had addressed himself as the one who would lock the end of the monsters in the way of a free world.

"I am Deadlock, just an old phantom from your erased memory."

Touma's face grew into a frantic panic as he felt his heart stop. A cold sweat ran over his body as he stepped back from the haunting boy who knew of his darkest secret. How? How did he know Touma had lost his memory?!

Deadlock found himself chuckling in amusement at Touma's reaction. He noticed the strange reaction Touma's body had taken at the sight of him. How odd. Well, they did say muscle memory remained unaffected even with memory loss.

"Seems that while she erased your memory of the event, your body at least remembers the damage I had left behind. You should listen to it. In reality, you and I have no reason to be at conflict any longer. So, rest easy." Deadlock stated calmly as he turned his sights away from Touma to the true objective on hand.

Touma followed Deadlock's line of sight, finding himself frowning as Dr. Tatsumi began to sweat in fear of the suited man too. In that moment, he completely disregarded his own turmoil for the safety of the man he had just meet.

"You're one of the guys who's after Dr. Tatsumi."

Deadlock nodded, not bothering to deny the simple truth, "Personally, I have no business with him. As you may have forgotten, my only true conflict remains with those monsters known as Level 5s. But my employer has hired me, among other small groups who reside in Skill-Out, to capture the good doctor. He is after all the key to her goal."

Touma's body moved on its own, stepping forward and blocking Deadlock's view of the scared scientist. Carefully moving Index's arm off his own, he tensed his entire body in case the man in the Queen Diver suit acted prematurely. It was good that Deadlock was talking, gave them plenty of time to figure how to run away from him. Touma needed to keep him distracted and focused on him.

Deadlock, he was someone from the previous Kamijou's past? Someone he had fought to the point he had nearly been killed apparently. Touma wasn't sure he could say any of what the red suited man said was true. On July 28th he had woken up with no memory of who he was. He had no memory of who his parents were, friends, or enemies he had once fought. Even stranger was something else Deadlock had said to him that made him curious. Something that seemed to cause a mild ache in his head.

"You said something about 'she' tossing me aside and erasing my memories. Who are you talking about?" Touma pressed on out of both wishing to distract Deadlock and learn a bit more of his forgotten past. Maybe it would also explain how the red suited boy knew of his memory loss.

Deadlock tilted his head to side, seeming to study Touma's face.

"You truly don't remember, do you? Of the girl you fought to near death to protect as you were surrounded by thirty or so foes just like me? Of the girl who could control others like puppets for own amusement and wishes. Of the starry eyes that no doubt strung you along to use as a meat shield. You don't remember. . ."

A splitting headache erupted in the middle of Touma's head as Deadlock spoke the name of the girl he had fought to protect once before.

 **" &** _%_ *** # _(_** _*_ ** _!_** **"**

Touma couldn't make out whatever name Deadlock had told him. It was lost before he could even pronounce a single letter character of the unknown name. The name was forgotten as quickly as it was said. An odd glaze came over Touma's eyes before he shook it off and blinked rapidly in confusion. He was confused for a second before returning to glare at the suited masked helmet villain.

"Are you going to tell me who you're talking about, or not?"

Deadlock like the others who were watching Touma was just as confused by what had just happened. But unlike the others Deadlock understood why. Only one person would be responsible for Touma's memory loss.

"To think that she would go so far for you to forget about it all. It's just like I told you! You were just another puppet to her that had filled its usefulness! At least now I know that I wasn't wrong in the slightest." Deadlock spat angrily before moving forward with his hands flexing, "Number Fives are abominations that are better off dead. All that I do is for the greater good of not just those with abilities, but even us zeroes! A world without the influence of fives is a world we're we can all achieve happiness. And that girl's plan is the key to my own goals as well! And I will take that key by force!"

Snapping his fingers, Deadlock announced his plan of attack. It was then that Touma and the other began to take notice of why the cafeteria garage was so silent. Among the delinquents eating peacefully, several others began to rise up with hidden weapons slipping out at the signal of Deadlock's snap. Even those who had nothing to do with the conflict were surprised and scowled furiously.

The Food Stand Spire was neutral grounds. There was no fighting whatsoever among those who only sought to eat in peace without the troubles of the outside world bothering them. It was a general rule all the delinquents, even those who weren't part of Skill-Out, followed without any fuss. And that iron clad rule was currently being trampled on.

Touma pushed Index and Angela back with his arms. He recognized when talking was over with. Wordlessly urging the girls and Dr. Tatsumi to move away, he faced the man who he had apparently fought once upon a time with fists gripped tightly for another fight.

"Death to the Level 5s. Death to the System." Deadlock chanted eerily as the small jets on his back began to burn.

An uproar of violence broke out from all those in the third level of the Food Stand Spire, sparked by Deadlock and his hired help. As those who had aligned themselves with Deadlock moved to attack the small group composed of Touma, Index, Angela, Toka, and Dr. Tatsumi, they found themselves under attack themselves by the others in the garage. Not in defense of the outsiders, but in retaliation for breaking the truce they had set up. The gangs fought among the strangers, using whatever weapons they had on them or improvising with whatever they found. It was a riot of fists.

And in the middle of all the fighting stood Touma and Deadlock. Neither one moved as they kept their eyes on another.

"Angela-san, I want you to take the girls and Dr. Tatsumi out of here. Do whatever you have to break through the fighting crowds. But I want you all to get out of District 10 and make your way to an Anti-Skill station! Now go!"

Angela moved to argue with Touma but found herself under the stern and no nonsense eyes of her father. There was no arguing with him when he got like this. You did as you were told. Biting her lip, she grabbed onto Index's arm and gestured for Dr. Tatsumi to follow while carrying Toka on her back. Even he didn't have anything to say when they were surrounded by gang violence.

"W-Wait! Touma!" Index cried out as she found herself being dragged away by her fellow Sister.

Deadlock was amused. He didn't go after the girls. Not yet. He still had some unfinished business to attend to.

"We've done this before. The only reason you survived was because a monster still had use for you. This time I won't lose. So here's your last chance, the same chance that I had given you long ago. Please," Deadlock urged softly as the jets on his back roared to life with an explosive burst of orange flares.

"Step aside. You have no reason to fight any longer. No one is here to distort your beliefs or causes. You have no reason to die."

Touma laughed as he cracked his knuckles. The grin on his face answered more than he could with words.

"I have no idea of what your talking about. Mind control, distortions, memories erased, being used as some puppet to protect someone who I can't remember, none of that matters! All I know is that you're planning on using someone and are willing to hurt anyone who gets in your way! I may have no memory of standing against you, but you do! So, get ready to have a taste of de ja vu all over again!"

"Heh."

In the sounds of shouting, knuckles meeting flesh, gunfire, and cracking bones washing over the garage full of food stands, the red riding suit boy laughed.

"Hahahahahahahahah!"

Just as before, he was not laughing out of mock or spite. He had once again accepted the unlucky boy who was in the way of his own plans. His shoulder were shaking as he reared his head back and held his masked helmet face. Taking a deep breath, he grinned and shot off from the spot on the roaring jets with a wistful yell.

"Then I hope you're prepared to met the same fate as before, you damn clown!"

Touma squared his shoulders and ran forward in the face of the human rocket on skate wheels racing straight for him. His right fist was raised, ready to shatter another illusion. One he seemed to have failed to completely break.

"You bet!"

A war of zeros broke out in the garage spire. One that would slowly leak out into the already tense streets in only a matter of time.

* * *

"Hmm?"

Hands crossed behind his head as he stared up at the sky, Hana found himself glancing back around to a certain building that sounded as if it had set up multiple fireworks. He could make out the tell tale signs of flashes and bangs along with shouts of violence. His face grew irritated as sparks lightly grew around his body.

"Great, more Skill-Outs wannabe's! At least I don't have to go searching for more to bust down." he scoffed as he began to head over to the direction of the Food Stand Spire. He was more than ready to charge in and give them all a taste of what he had done to the smaller gangs he had run into when he found an odd group run out of the building while being followed by several thugs. His eyes grew wide in recognition at the sight of two nuns, or more specifically, the raven haired nun who carried an unruly haired high school girl on her back.

"Angela? Toka?" Hana whispered softly before finding himself arcing with electricity. His eyes were narrowed, focusing on the thugs chasing after the girls with bats and pocket knives.

Cleaning out the trash could wait. He had some family to reconnect with. And some skulls to bust open.

* * *

 _ **In your wake, a string of shattered hearts were left behind by your failure as a hero. Even the most loving of children have unhappy thoughts of their parents. And those feelings can be easily manipulated in ones lowest moments.**_

 _ **Can you define 0? A number with no value in this twisted world. Can anyone truly do anything without any ability? Or is the number planted onto you truly what defines you in this SYSTEM?**_

 _ **Do you remember? Of that pleasant summer where you befriended a monster? Of the girl who you swore to protect? Or is that just another memory that had died with the old unlucky high school boy?**_

 _ **The puppet has no strings. But their fists are still raised none the less for a fight once again. In this world of numbers, shatter the nonsensical belief of worth and power with your fist!**_

 **There we have it! It took longer than I had hoped to upload, but I did it. Now I got to finish Chapter 6. But first, SLEEP. I swear I got dark rings under my eyes. At least I've finally been given a few days off. Maybe now I'll be able to get back to reading some of my favorite fics too. I should probably update my other stories too while I'm at it. I'm sure my fans on the RWBY fandom are seeking for my blood at this point.**

 **Remember to read and review! It's common courtesy!**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	5. The Resolve of Those With No Power

**Busy, busy, busy, that's all I've been feeling lately. NeoShadows back again with a nicely edited fresh chapter of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps.**

 **Seeing as Chapter 7 is almost done and I'm getting ready to type up the final battle, along with the Epilogue, I decided to update this early. Mostly though, I'm doing this because I'm going to be very busy these next two months since I have to find a new house. Moving be one hell of a bitch. Hopefully I can finish this Arc before I have to begin with the heavy lifting.**

 **At least I had some time to finish reading NT 22 once it was done being translated on Reddit. Man, what an ending! I wonder what the new morning will bring to Imagine Breaker and The One Who Purifies God and Slays Demons? I just can't wait for what Kamachi has in store next!**

 **For now, let's get to our reviews and get our own show moving along.**

 **DN Works : Hmm, good eye. There is much more to it than that though. After all, what they were facing was a Magic God. None of them can be called idiots and are very cunning. As we go into the Sisters Arc, we will see more of that miasma come into play and learn of just how much thought was put into the curse the Magic God put into it.**

 **BlueJack22: Ohohoh! The Sisters Arc is going to be fun! It's going to intertwine with A Certain Scientific Railgun's own story as well. Trust me, it's going to be crazy.**

 **Nguyen Thanh Long: That's what I want though. For you guys to have your own ideas of how this and that are going to happen next. I like the idea, but I do have my own plans with Misaki and Touma already planned out for future arcs to come. Especially when we get to their own kid brought into the picture with his own plans. And to answer your PM, that's a good idea. But there is more to it than just a gift to the children as he was trapped. Much more.**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: A swing! And a miss! Sorry, but it ain't Fukiyose's kid, but that child will be brought up as we enter the new term, among a few of my other favorite's. Can we say, Delta Force Neo!? Better luck next time. Yeah, there is definately something up with the future children. But it's much more than we ya can believe. After all, this is a Magic God we're talking about. Do ya think it's nothing more than some kind of trigger based berserk curse? Once we get into the Sisters Arc, you'll see what I mean. Ah, I can't wait for that! One of my favorite girl's from the future will be introduced to cause her own mischief. Oh, and we've only just seen the peak of all the swirling chaos. Misaki's time will come, trust me, but it won't be now. Doesn't mean we won't see her here and there. Oh, you'll get your description of our dear Index in time, my friend!**

 **Lordrednight: Well, that's good to hear. I thought I would have trouble handling Touma's unique character. That's the thing about him, if you're not too careful, you'll write him off as some overly heroic type who can only preach and punch. I didn't want that, I wanted to keep him as just a boy who was struggling to do what the person before him would do while fighting with his own wants. It's still too early to see much of that though. As for the age of Touma when he fathered Angela, he was in his early twenties for her, so 23. As a small spoiler, Touma was 20 when he had his first child, though that's a story for another day. I hope to get back to RWBY once I've got all this covered and get more free time to edit the finished chapters.**

 **TheWookie1: Ya think that's 11? Pfft! We going over in this chapter and it's only going to climb up higher to the peak of the climax.**

 **TazalTerminals: Ya got an idea of what all that's about, huh? I'd like to hear it. Because it's much more than just your average curse as we'll see here. Overwork myself? Hah! I do that everyday as is.**

 **Now, let's get to it already and get scrolling ahead! We got some action in store waiting!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer : _I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index, all rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi. Nothing much to say today. Got my hands full with finding a new home and preparing to move. Hopefully this time I can find a home with a pretty, older sister type living next door. I want my male fantasy, damn it!_**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Resolve of Those With No Powers.**

 **War_On_The_Streets.**

To the little knowledge of Academy City, District 10 was boiling over and spilling with war on its streets involving the many factions of Skill-Out that resided within. A literal gang war was beginning to take place. And no one was a doing a thing to stop it. Not Anit-Skill. Not Judgement. No one.

One would ask; Why? Yes, District 10 was often overlooked as the city had left it to be tarnished by the Level 0s who had a problem with the System. Nothing majorly important was held in the district other than the well maintained and guarded nuclear facilities that the delinquents never bothered to harm. Even they were not so stupid to poke at an active and radiating bomb. Not to mention the main leader of Skill-Out had had well enough control over the zeroes, acting as the controlling force that placed his own laws to abide by. Any trouble to rise up in District 10 would be swiftly taken care of by the leader of Skill-Out in place of Anti-Skill or Judgement, even if they also created their own brand of crime outside of their district.

But what was currently brewing in the streets overrun by said Skill-Outs was being caused and fueled by Skill-Out. This was a large scale problem, one that could eventually flood out from District 10 to the streets of the bordering districts if nothing was done. And it didn't seem that the figure head, Komaba Ritoku, would be enough to quell the infighting of his own organization. This was officially an Academy City problem.

 _"Clear the area of all civilians, NOW! Set up a perimeter as quickly as possible, and shut those things down! Call in Judgement if you have to, we need all the help we can get to deal with these things!"_

 _"This is Branch 32, coming in! Reporting attacks on the junior campus facilities! Requesting back up!"_

 _"This is Branch 55! They're taking heavy fire!"_

 _"Branch 20 is calling in! They've lost control of the trams! They're asking to abandon the fight and gather up more men for a second assault!"_

 _"Reporting on Branch 28's Captain, they're struggling to evacuate the civilians! Where the hell is Judgment!?"_

 _"Sir! They're breaking down the barriers before we can even set them up! Our weapons aren't having much effect either. So far, we've only been able to take down seven of them. We might need to consider heavier artillery!"_

 _"Damn it, just what the hell's wrong with those things?! They're cleaning bots for crying out loud!"_

 _Unfortunately, it was not Academy City's only current problem on the streets._

In the student populates districts of Academy City, a bug had seemed to enter the programming of all the cleaning and security bots that freely roamed the streets on their usual patrol. It was believed that a hacker had somehow bypassed all the security walls and implanted their own code, their 'bug', into the bots main programming, overriding their initial settings to run a new task. The simple, cute, and faithful bots that's sole reason for being was to watch over the students and clean up after them had been corrupted with its new objective.

 **ATTACK.**

The scene of several grown adults decked out in SWAT gear, wielding guns, and riot shields was a familiar sight in other districts at the moment. Those who protected the students were known as Anti-Skill, an adult task force of teachers that also acted as a form of law and military force in place of the police or government army in Academy City. They were well trained to handle situations that plagued the city like any other city on earth. They even knew how to handle Espers, but when they weren't enough, there was Judgement, a special student task force made up of students to handle out of control Espers and aid however possible. Together the two maintained the normal everyday lives of the residences of Academy City for the better.

But right now, said task force was being overwhelmed by the sudden attack of bots that were proving to be more durable and relentless than they first believed.

Behind the hole peppered defense line they had set up, a certain Anti-Skill officer was scowling irritably as she reloaded her rifle. The woman had smooth, silky dark blue hair tied back in a ponytail, wore the standard Anti-Skill uniform, and underneath possessed the body of a fashion model. Her name was Yomikawa Aiho, a teacher of A Certain High School, who worked as an Anti-Skill officer for the other half of her career. And right now, she was cursing under her breath as the top half of the deployed metal cover was torn off by a riddle of bullets.

 _"We've discovered a weakness! Search for an odd symbol on the bots body, it looks like an occult symbol of some kind! Destroying it seems to stop them dead! Focus your fire on that spot before you waste bullets and hold the line! Judgement is on their way to assist!"_

That was the last thing Yomikawa wanted. She couldn't help but grimace at the need to bring in more students to assist with something as riot control against a swarm of machines. The enemy wasn't an Esper, it was better for the students to focus on helping with the evacuation of students than having them join in on the battle. Not when enough blood had already been spilled in the crossfire.

With the top half of her cover gone, the blue haired officer was forced to remain low as she peeked around the edge. There she saw the enemy.

A mini army, a swarm, of the simple bots that helped maintained Academy City's streets marched forward with their single security cams that acted as an 'eye' burning red. Alongside them were the security bots that were used by Anti-Skill, gone rogue and now aiming their built in automated weapons at them. The scene reminded Yomikawa of a robot uprising she would see in movies. She wasn't sure she could distinguish the two scenes at the moment as fantasy or reality.

This was more than just a hacker's work though. As she watched other Anti-Skill fire away at the bots with bullet after bullet, she saw how their ammunition struggled to rip the metal drones apart. It was almost like firing at stone walls, all they were doing was chipping away at them. It was only the occasional bullet that seemed to be enough to take one out like a random critical hit in games. With the new piece of information though, she could understand why. The symbol that she could spy on a few of the bots that weren't as much scratched by the mad riddle of metal appeared to be the cause for their corruption.

Yomikawa didn't understand how something as a symbol could take over the machines, perhaps it was some new kind of hacking technology, but that was beside the problem she could see. What really got here was how said symbol could grant the bots an increase in durability. That and-

The bots stopped their march, growing still as their camera lens grew incredibly red. The burning intensity seemed to act as a warning. From the red eyes, a wide spread barrage of laser fire was unleashed upon the barricade created by durable automated covers that could withstand Level 2-3 Abilities. And like paper, the lasers burned right through, hitting the unfortunate Anti-Skill personal who hid behind the lines.

Yomikawa grit her teeth, feeling the thin beam with the width of a pencil graze her shoulder. She was one of the lucky few to not have suffered a hole to her body it seemed. Ignoring the wound, she quickly took up aim, finding the laser fire down the bots for a few seconds before firing round after round at the exposed weak points on the machines bodies.

The laser carnival had pretty much destroyed her own cover, so there was nothing much else to do but go on the attack. She couldn't afford to run and hide like a few others. Not when-

"Someone, help! My friend can't move, she's badly wounded! I-I can't stop the bleeding! PLEASE, HELP!"

Not when there were children right behind her.

"Shit!"

Taking out one more of the bots that were beginning to reboot, Yomikawa dropped her empty rifle to the ground and quickly ran in search of the cry for help. A spray of metal followed after her, nearly clipping her head before she slid into a roll. She reached for the pistol on her thigh, took aim under the heavy gunfire, and fired off a few quick shots that luckily struck two weak points. She grit her teeth, turning back to search for the students that were caught up in all this mess.

Now, she couldn't help but wish Judgement could arrive. This was beyond something even Anti-Skill could handle. Even she wasn't so stupid to believe that the students wouldn't be of help.

 _"Branch 73! We report that we can no longer offer anymore reinforcements at the moment! All other Branches are to hold down their own districts and be aided by their respective Judgement branches for the foreseeable moment! Requests for use of Powered Suits has been denied! I repeat, denied! All autonomous machinery is to be forbidden!"_

Yomikawa was ready to grip her P-Phone and argue in protest of the denied request. Of all times, the Powered Suits would be a welcomed boon. Why would they deny use them now of all times?

The answer to that question came in the form of several powerful shotgun rounds fired into the last of the remaining barricade. The explosive force shattered the remains, leaving whoever had survived the attack defenseless as the the attacker stomped over.

Parting their way through the small army of bots, three large, bulky, pieces of military armor with wide cylindrical helmets stood at the front in a variety of camouflage colors. They were known as Powered Suits, large weapons in the form of western armor that helped to increase the pilots strength and movement. Said weapons required human pilots to operate though. And it didn't appear as if anyone was manning the suits from within. She could see why though in the form of the glowing red occult symbol on the very top of the Powered Suit's helmet the size of half a penny. It was almost unnoticeable if it wasn't burning so intensely.

 _'Just what the hell is going on? From the chatter on the other end, this is happening in the other districts too? Why? Who would go through all this trouble and for what purpose? This is nothing short of pointless rampage! Why bother with causing all this mayhem if the perpetrator isn't even out here making demands!?'_

This entire attack had begun out of the blue. It had been a normal summer morning here in District 7 when the chaos had begun. It had started from one cleaning bot tripping over a couple of students. Than it had escalated with several of the bots bashing into whoever passed them by. And it had gotten out of control as one of them had fired a beam of unnatural energy to pierce a student's thigh.

This incident had been a hacker's doing, there was no doubt about that. But why? There was no one making any demands, no one spouting their reasons for attacking the students, no one going on about some unjust crime or failure of a system they were trapped in, no one wishing for revenge. It was an attack without any motive.

Sadly there was no time to wonder why. Not as all three of the Powered Suits loaded their heavy shotguns and marched forward to attack whoever was in their line of sight. Yomikawa went on the move, abandoning going up against such machines to instead focus on the students. That was her top priority.

In the background of all the chatter on her P-Phone, she heard mention of District 10. Whatever it was was drowned out by the majority of the other Anti-Skill branches requesting aid or more solutions to dealing with the up rise in machines. The signals of war on the streets of the zero ridden district were ignored, dying away in the chaos of the rest of the city.

* * *

A haggard cough broke out from Touma's lips as he found his body thrown back against one of the concrete beams that held up the floor of this level of the parking garage. Blood ran down his split lip as he clutched at the bruising area around his chest from the blow that could have cracked his chest bones. He was surprised he had made it this far without breaking anything yet. Just how durable was his body? Seemed that the previous Kamijou was used to getting his ass kicked regularly. A nasty habit he had left behind to the newest Kamijou Touma.

"Is that all? You showed more resilience when you faced thirty of my comrades with the same suit and even with abilities. Just how weak have you become since that monster cleaned your brain out?!"

Touma's ears twitched. He could hear the roar of small powerful jets burst. Instincts warned him to move out of the way. Now. And since he had no idea how to properly fight, he fell back to listening to the one good thing the past Kamijou had left him. And that was his hard wired instincts.

Deadlock was like a blazing missile of pure speed, firing off in a straight and forward line that steam rolled through the many thugs in his way. Before the hired mercenary could strike, Touma rolled out of the way, leaving the red suit boy to punch the concrete beam. The impact was enough to leave behind a crack of webs. Clenching his fist, Deadlock spun around to find the dodgy boy, only to be thrown back by Touma's infamous right fist. His head spun, disorienting him and leaving him wide open to the charging spiky haired boy. Before Deadlock could put his arms up to block, Touma broke into his guard with a quick series of right cross punches to the face of the red suit's helmet. Each blow was enough to rattle Deadlock's thoughts, repeatedly ringing his head like a gong.

"ENOUGH!" Breaking out from the punches with a deflected blow to the unlucky Level-0's chest, Deadlock prepared the pile bunker on his arm. The weapon whirred to life and slid down his shoulder's to align along his left arm for a devastating and fatal piercing blow.

Touma's grunted as he stumbled back from the blow. The punch hit him directly in his chest wound, causing the wound to open up. And once again his damaged white shirt was beginning to soak with red. Facing back to the red suited boy crowded by the various other delinquents and thugs fighting out in the food court, he grew alarmed at the sight of several of the thugs running away from his line of sight. He wasn't sure he should be standing around either.

"You've done this before, so let's see if you can block this!"

Thugs threw themselves out of the way of the jet propelled red suited boy skating straight forward with a stabbing pile bunker aimed intently at Touma.

Touma stared at the rushing explosive nail incredulously. He blocked that before? How?! Just what the hell was he capable of before he lost his memories? There was no time to think as the pile bunker was ready to collapse his chest with the force of an erupting jackhammer in a matter of seconds. Despite the imminent death facing him, Touma found his body positioning itself to counter.

Shoulder facing the incoming attack and feet spaced apart, Touma swore time itself slowed down as his left hand flew right at the deadly nail. His hand just barely missed the nail as his leg shot up and kicked Deadlock's shins just as his hand clutched onto the red suit boy's pile bunker wielding wrist. The kick to the shins knocked Deadlock's unsteady balance off as he lost control of the direction of his firing nail. Before it could fire, Touma manipulated Deadlock's weapon upward. An explosive bang rang out in his ears as the nail fired up into the ceiling, erupting in a blossom of flames and smoke that rained down pieces of rubble onto all those fighting below.

Touma wasn't done yet. Right fist clenched tight, he cracked the red suit boy's jaw with a strong uppercut that lifted him off his feet and into the falling cloud of smoke and debris about to cover the area.

"Hopefully that knocked him out." Touma panted as he waved away the smoke and dust from the explosive nail.

Since this was Touma we were talking about, it was not meant to be.

With a vengeful roar, Deadlock flew out from the cloud of debris with a diving stomp from the new hole in the ceiling. Several cracks crawled around on his helmet's visor along with a few of his skate wheels broken off. Touma bounced back, evading the stomp before going on the evasive again as Deadlock abandoned firing his weapon to go fist to fist. Riding on the full force of the jets of his Queen Diver suit, Deadlock sped past Touma, knocking the high school boy around like a pinball as he ran over all the Skill-Outs in his way to bash his fist into his opponent's battered body. The blitz attack quickly came to an end though as Touma ducked at the last second, sweeping Deadlock's legs out from under him, before knocking the Queen Diver boy off his feet with a straight punch to the face.

It was the same as before. Just as their fight had gone a year before, Deadlock found himself sweating and struggling against a simple high school boy with no real power. Even with the Queen Diver, also known as The Spear of Usurpation, a suit that had been designed to counter against one of the seven Level 5's known as Mental Out, he couldn't over power the boy. Last time had been different, Deadlock had his comrades fighting alongside him and it was thanks to them that they had brought Touma to near death. Though he had chalked their failure up to Shokuhou Misaki since the honey blond girl had found a way to control them with her ability. It was the only reason why someone with no ability, no weapons, no training, could have kept up with them and beat them.

Deadlock found respect for someone who constantly referred himself as a normal high school boy. Kamijou Touma was proof that one in a city of science, technology, and abilities could become more and actually live a happy life. Maybe the zero was right? Maybe they were just using the Level 5's as an excuse for their lack of control in their life? Maybe, just maybe, if they had met earlier in their life, Deadlock would have been capable of walking the same path as a normal high school boy. The proof was right in front of him.

But the world was made of maybes. Deadlock had made his decision, he had his ideals, his own way of life, and his own road to travel. He had come to terms with who he was, what he wished for from the unfair world. As the only one who had survived the memory erasure by that honey blond haired monster, this was his role. And he wouldn't be so easily shaken to go back on his words and actions.

It was a with a deep roar from his chest that Deadlock broke through Touma's guard with a savage high kick to the forehead that snapped the spiky haired boy's head back. Jets roared like a violent bark from Deadlock's back as he tackled the spiky haired boy with the force of a rocket. Grabbing a tight hold of his opponent, he shot forward on his skate wheels with a powerful burst of his jets, charging through any of the thugs in his straight wild and aimless charge.

Touma's back screamed at him with every thug that he was plowed through. He wasn't sure how long he was being tackled for, each second was followed by more pain as he openly grit his teeth to stop himself from screaming. The world passed him by in a blur before he found his body thrown into a food cart. He fell back against the cart with oil soaked fries and hot dogs drenching his bloody shirt with a strained, wheezing gasp.

"Have you had enough yet?!" Deadlock shouted as he loaded another nail into his pile bunker. "Or will you force my hand to finish what I started a year ago?! Because trust me, this time I won't make the same fucking mistake twice!" he swore before focusing his sights on the slowly rising high school boy.

Touma coughed violently into his hand as he tried to steady himself on his shaking feet. Everything at this point hurt. His chest, his arms, his back, his face. It was like every inch of his body had been beaten senseless. By the end of the day, he wouldn't be surprised to find that his whole body had become a bruise. Despite it all though, all the pain, the fact he was finding it harder and harder to stand up, and the light headiness that was slowly beginning to cloud his thoughts, Touma grinned stubbornly.

"What? Getting tired already!? Because I can keep going as long as possible. Because you can bet that I haven't grown tired of getting in your damn way!"

All around the two boys, the fighting had grown to envelope the entire lower levels of the Food Stand Spire. Gang warfare had erupted once the unspoken rule of no fighting had been broken. Unknown to Touma, the fighting had begun to spread out of the building and into the streets. No matter where they would turn, they would be greeted with war among delinquents. War among zeroes.

Inwardly though, Deadlock was pleased with the results. Attacking in the middle of the Food Stand Spire was by no chance a coincidence. He had planned to make move like this at some point in the day. It just so happened that his two missions had perfectly aligned themselves. Part one of his mission had been a complete success. All that was left was part two.

A heavy clang echoed as the nail mounted on his arm locked in securely. An annoying obstacle was all that stood in his way. One he couldn't just turn away from.

"We've done this before, you know?"

Touma grimaced, both from pain, and at the jab of the lack of memories the scarlet Queen Diver spoke of. Of course he didn't know. Whatever history the two of them had was gone one bright morning in July.

Deadlock didn't seem to wait on an answer, casually addressing Touma in the midst of all the fighting.

"I and my organization were on the hunt for one Shokuhou Misaki."

A name was said, it brought an erupting pain in Touma's forehead. And it was gone a second later.

"We had everything we needed to take her down, these very suits were designed to combat her annoying Mental Out Ability, coupled with her weak physique and lack of real combat skills, and she was as good as dead. Than you showed up."

A deep, scorning, tone of resentment was mixed in with Deadlock's casual address. It was enough to put Touma on edge again as the scarlet suited boy continued, mindlessly toying with the deadly pile driver on hand.

"At first, I truly believed that you were just another one of her pawns, one she had taken up at the last second to shield her from harm. It certainly looked that way to my eyes. You even held yourself up against us, better than a normal civilian, all to that girl's manipulations no doubt. But than you began to speak, planting doubt into my mind that you were another one of her toys. You made me realize my own weakness of heart, that this was all just a creation of my pitiable core that would rather blame others than accept responsibility for what this world had done to us. You had a way of speaking that forced us to see what we had desperately tried to hide."

Deadlock spoke wistfully, his voice soft as he reminisced to a past Touma could no longer recall. Like an old friend trying to catch up with someone who had moved away years ago, only to show up one day on the street.

"But that was simply a distortion too. I realize that now."

Jets burning, Deadlock raced forward in a heartbeat. Touma felt his breath hitch as he moved to evade, ducking under the wide swing of the pile bunker on the Queen Diver's arm. He stepped to the side, avoiding the deadly firing weapon stabbing him through before Touma began to fall back into dodging the wild swings of the forgotten enemy.

"That's all it was! Just a distortion in reality created by the AIM Dispersion Fields of those who stand above all us! It's their realities that bend the very world to their whim! Its those distortions that create tragedy after tragedy! At the hands of someone who could freely control the minds of whoever she pleased, didn't you think it was odd that my doubts, your doubts and will, were for the benefit of someone else?! Of course not, because the very memory of doubt was erased from that weak mind of yours!"

Abandoning throwing around the weight of his pile bunker, Deadlock settled for fighting with his right fist. As did Touma. The two boys charged forward, slamming their knuckles against the other. Seeing an opening, Deadlock stabbed his pile bunker forward, firing the nail to finish the job it had failed a year ago. But once again, the weapon found itself being smacked away at the last second to fire straight ahead at the wall behind them, causing a rush of heat and smoke to blow back against them as the wall shattered apart.

"What you see before you, is just another distortion related to that annoying bee. Even after she finished with you, you're left to finish her problems, all because of the reality she imparted on you. Though she's erased herself from your memory, she still has you following along to her commands! All for her benefit! What other reason would you and I have for fighting?"

"What other reason!?" Touma spat incredulously, "Are you completely out of your mind? It's because of you, isn't it? It's because of you that a girl and man were forced to runaway from a group of thugs who would harm them if they didn't come along! Distortions?! Don't go making up fucking excuses as to why I'm standing in your way of harming others! You're the one who's spouting a bunch of nonsensical crap that has nothing to do with now!"

Biting back a shout of pain from the struggle aggravating the bleeding wound on his chest, Touma twisted his fist in its struggle against Deadlock's, causing it to slide past the Queen Diver's arm and strike his shoulder. Deadlock shouted in pain, stepping back to gain some distance, only to find himself being struck by several swings of Touma's right and left fist. Deadlock quickly grew sick of being smacked around, breaking through the swings and slamming his pile bunker's weight against Touma's side. The spiky haired boy gasped hoarsely as he felt the weapon impact against his ribs, threatening to break them as he was sent rolling on the ground.

Deadlock breathed heavily, reloading the next nail as he warily watched Touma slowly get back up with his arms against the side of his ribs. And despite the pain, the spiky haired boy continued to glare at him with those defiant dark eyes. Staring at those eyes, Deadlock found himself noticing something odd about them. The confidence, the defiant will, and the stubbornness he had encountered before weren't as strong as they were before. They were different. As if he was speaking with a completely different person. Even with the memory wipe the spiky haired boy suffered, nothing more than his memories should have been erased. Right?

"You still don't get it. No, it's more than that. You. . .you're different than before. I had thought that erasing the memory of the event was all that monster did to you, that it would finally sink in now that you were free of her manipulations. But perhaps that was just wishful thinking. After all, she erased your memory, didn't she? It's why you no longer recognize me. It's why you can't relate to me even though you and I are the same! It's all because of her and those Level 5s. But it's also why I won't lose again."

Completing the rearming of his Queen Diver's weapon, Deadlock took aim again, his eyes firmer and filled with determination.

"You were a fake then. The boy I thought was just like the others and I, was just a creation of the dirty bee's distortions. The Kamijou Touma I thought I knew was never real. Which means now, I know, that my conviction will stand above your own. Because I am much more than just the lingering doubt of a monster."

"Can't you shut up?"

Deadlock flinched back, his words failing as those damned Level 0s eyes only grew stronger and bolder.

"I don't know what you believe, but that Kamijou Touma that you had fought long ago was no fake! I still have no idea what the hell your spouting, going on about distortions, an execution of a girl, and memories being erased, but I know one damn fact for sure!"

Slapping his right hand against his bleeding chest, Touma spoke fiercely with utter conviction in his voice.

"That Kamijou Touma was real! Whether he was being manipulated or not, he stood before a group of idiots who could only place the blame of their problems on one girl! Who couldn't stand by and let those idiots kill a girl because of weakness of heart! That Kamijou Touma didn't mind being used as a shield that would have been tossed aside, not as long as that person who stood behind his back could walk away and live their life with a smile again! Even if that Kamijou Touma was erased, I know for damn sure he was real!"

That Kamijou Touma was dead. Forgotten in his rescue of the smile of one silver haired nun. The Kamijou Touma who now stood here in his place was just a husk, a leftover of the original who ran around in his body and name. He had no idea of what the previous Kamijou had done, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt, that he was real and would never be forgotten.

Fake? As if! The one who stood before Deadlock may have settled for that title, but not if it addressed the Kamijou who he now tried to live by. Even now, Touma still didn't understand a single thing Deadlock was rambling on about. It was a story he would never remember. But from what little he understood, he knew one thing for sure. The Original Kamijou Touma had fought to protect someone. That was all that he needed to understand. Every other detail didn't matter one bit. Because Kamijou Touma was known for one thing, and that was protecting whoever cried out for help.

To call that treasured person in his heart an illusion was no better than shitting on their grave. And Touma would never stand for it!

With renewed energy running through his battered body, Touma smirked as he rose his right fist against the dumbfounded scarlet Queen Diver.

"And I'm the same. This Kamijou Touma will get in the way of another idiot who could only mean harm to the people in your sights. Even if this is just the distortion created by someone else, the emotions that remained of that Kamijou Touma prodding me along, as long as it allows me to stand here and protect someone else, it really doesn't matter to me. If that's just an illusion to you, THAN GO AHEAD AND JUST TRY TO SHATTER IT!"

Deadlock snapped. Anger took control of him as he grew fed up with talking with the shadow of a distortion. With the last of his mercy drained, he fired the deadly nail without hesitation. The range was perfect, it was a one shot kill. No one, no matter how stubborn or durable they were, could survive a foot long nail fired with the force of a piston to their chest. Not at this range.

Touma had been prepared though. Reacting quickly, he had reached for the food cart behind him and threw a certain canister that had been knocked over and hit his feet. Funny thing about greasy food carts, they carried a bunch of flammable oils and gas tanks underneath. One could say they were a mini bomb packed with explosive potential.

The firing nail pierced the propane tank with a momentary hiss. What happened next came should come as no surprise.

An explosion of blue and orange flames erupted between the two boys, blocking their sights as the tank detonated before their eyes. The small bomb was enough to stop some of the fighting close by as everyone ran away from the explosion that sent flames and burning debris flying everywhere. It wasn't long until all those who had been fighting in the third level of the garage building ran away from the slowly burning food stands. The radius of the explosive blast was enough to send everyone scrambling towards the lower levels.

Flames began to carpet the asphalt. Smoke clouded everything in sight. And in the aftermath of the explosion, one red suited boy could be seen laying back against a column, his Queen Diver suit licking with embers and tears. Deadlock struggled to rise, breathing heavily as he pushed his damaged body up.

 _'T-The crazy b-bastard!'_ Who the hell was stupid enough to set off an explosion like that?! They were both right in the middle of it for crying out loud! It was nothing short of a suicidal tactic!

Wincing sharply as he felt his left arm slump, indicating a dislocation, Deadlock popped it back in with a guttural yell as he stood back up. Scanning the flaming surroundings of the warzone that was once a garage full of food stands and parked RVs, he clicked his tongue at the lack of spiky hair knocked out on the ground. The sneaky bastard must have made it out of the blast to runaway.

Oh well. Flexing his hand to get the feeling back, Deadlock escaped the burning lower level with a seething glare behind his helmet's visor.

This was just a part of his employer's plans. He was hired to bring discord to District 10 and hunt down a certain scientist. His mission didn't involve battling an old enemy. Even if he would so gladly enjoy it. He still had a mission to complete. He could allow Kamijou Touma to escape with no worry.

Because this plan seemed to involve that boy's meddling. As long as Deadlock continued on chasing after the scientist, he would meet Touma again. And this time, he wouldn't lose. Not to the shell of someone who had been nothing more than the creation of a monster.

* * *

Moments ago, Angela and Index, with the company of Dr. Tatsumi and a still unconscious Toka, fled the Food Stand Spire to escape the pursuing thugs Deadlock had ordered after them. Being weighed down by a sleeping Level 0, a nun with no magical power, and a scientist that didn't seem to know how to fight back in any way, Angela was left with little way to actually defend against the men with various weapons in their hands. Sure, she had her own magic, spells, and had no problem with using them in self defense, but with the extra weight on her back in the form of her sister, she wouldn't be able to do much. Unless they could find a space with enough room to fire away, or set her sister down, they were in for a lot of trouble.

To her surprise though, she didn't have to worry about those no good thugs for much longer. As they made their way onto the streets, the gang of delinquents were cut off from reaching either one of them by what looked like a zip of lightning. A familiar head of chestnut brown hair stood in the middle of the surprised thugs with what could only be described as a ticked off grin. Sparks went off on the boy's body that quickly grew in volume until he became a pillar of scorching lightning that struck every single one of the thugs in his way. Screams of pain mixed with surprise could be heard until the men fell back like charred beef.

"Seriously! I knew Academy City use to have a roach problem, but I didn't think it was this bad!" Hana complained as he kicked one of the smoking unconscious thugs head with a sneer.

"SPARKY!"

"Eh?" Hana blinked. He seemed to have forgotten why he had charged in for a moment before a flying white missile with raven locks hit his back. His eyes flew open in surprise as Angela nearly knocked him down. The damn nun should know better than to charge at someone like that! Just what the hell were they teaching nuns these days? And since when did she feel like she gained almost a hundred pounds?

Glancing back at the happy faced raven haired nun, Hana was surprised to see another dark haired girl hanging off her back.

"Wait, is that Toka-onee-san? What is she doing sleeping on your back?"

"Where have you been, Sparky!? Do you know how long it's been since I've seen any of you?! I would have thought that you would have at least gone to look for me once you were dropped off! But instead I find you roaming the streets like some no good delinquent?! Do you even know how worried I was!? HUH?! DO YOU?!"

Hana's face scrunched up in annoyance as Angela went off on a scolding tirade that hurt his ears. This really wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now. Not to mention his holier than thou little sister was really heavy with the extra added weight of his older sister on her back. His legs were already wobbling from the strain, damn it!

"Oi! Quit chew off my ear and get off! I don't know what you think you weigh right now, but-"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT!?"

Oooh, wrong thing to say.

To the sides of the squabbling siblings, Index and Dr. Tatsumi watched as Angela began to furiously pound at the brown haired boy's head, eventually toppling them both down along with the still passed out Toka. The silver haired sister wasn't sure what she was suppose to do in this situation. Right now, they were in the middle of being chased by delinquents but to the two in front of her, the situation didn't appear as dire as it should have been. Not when Angela was more concerned with beating up some random stranger she appeared to be acquainted with.

 _'Wait. Something doesn't feel right.'_ Index narrowed her eyes as she stared at the boy apparently known as Hana with suspicion.

Earlier she had seen something strange. When Touma had touched Toka with his Imagine Breaker, she had finally gotten an answer to the strange mana she had felt trickling from the unruly haired girl. Before the miasma like magic had disappeared from the girl's body, Index had studied what she could from it. She got a feeling towards it and could now recognize it and come to a conclusion. A curse, a powerful one at that. One that seeped deep into the target's body. She wasn't sure what the curse did without further studying it, but she was able to memorize the feeling of the curse magic that had affected Toka.

Right now, just by glancing at Hana, who Index had never met before, she could feel the same mana that had cursed Toka in his body. It was very faint. Any other magician wouldn't have thought twice if they were to have been in the same room as the chestnut haired boy. But Index had studied a literal library of tomes dealing in magic. If there was one thing she could recognize if she was blind, it would be magic.

 _'First Toka-san, now this boy? It seems that the people Angela-san knows are being affected by a curse I've never seen before. I wonder if she even notices?'_ Did that mean Angela was cursed too? No, that couldn't be right. Angela had spent the last few days with her. Just on their first meeting, she would have been able to detect the same mana that was seeping into Toka's and Hana's body. How strange.

Having had enough of the beating from a nun of all people, Hana kicked off his sister with a tired grunt. He ignored the huffy glare Angela sent him for not only knocking her off, but Toka. It was her fault anyway. Finally taking notice of the company around him, Hana found his eyes glued to the silver haired nun in white robes and golden highlights. For some reason, he was getting the strangest sense of de ja vu.

"Who's the shortstuff?" he blurted out. His comment earned him another whack to the head from his huffy virtuous sister.

"That's Index Librorum Prohibitorum."

For a good minute or so, Hana stared at Index with disbelief. His eyes went up and down her figure as he tried to come to terms with whatever illusion he was seeing. It wasn't that he didn't know who said silver haired nun was. No, he knew who Index was. After all, it wasn't everyday that your morning breakfast was ruined by a nun of all things dropping onto your dinning room table before dragging you along on an adventure that covered a large part of the world in only four days. It was said nun, or archbishop as she was known in their time, that had sent his normal life into a downward spiral of magic and mayhem.

No, the reason he staring at Index with disbelief was the fact that she was short. And flat.

 _'This is the busty, tactical, Archbishop of the English Puritans?! What the hell! How does someone that short, cute, and flat turn into a bombshell in the future?! Did she use magic to make her self more sexy and mature or something?!'_

"Why is he staring at me?" Index wasn't sure why, but she had the sudden desire to bite down at the gaping chestnut haired Esper until he screamed out for mercy.

Angela laughed nervously as she smacked Hana to snap him out of his staring, "Oh, don't mind him! I think he's just a bit dazed is all!"

Hana winced as he got the hint. Right, he couldn't go doing anything suspicious to draw attention. Which is exactly what he had been doing for the last few days when he thought about it. He couldn't help but scratch his head irritably. Maybe it was better if he didn't tell Angela what he had been doing before she found him. In his defense, he was just blowing off some steam. And what better way to do that than beating up a bunch of thugs?

Besides, someone had to take care of the problem that was known as Skill-Out. Not like his bum of a father would go out of his way to do it.

"Should we really be standing around like this? I don't mean to be that kind of character, but we are currently being chased by various thugs after me."

Hana spun to meet the dark comb over scientist next to Index. He pointed his thumb over to the stranger.

"What's he talking about? And who's the fancy suit?" he asked curiously, earning an eye roll from Dr. Tatsumi.

Seeming to remember where they were and what was happening, Angela jumped up in alarm, shaking Toka's sleeping body around as she paced around in panic.

"We forgot about Kamijou-san! He's still fighting that weird red skater suit boy! We have to go after him!" she shouted urgently.

Index gasped as she was reminded of her beloved caretaker. She mirrored her fellow holy sister as the both began to pace about frantically. All the while Toka's body was being flailed about like a rag doll hanging around her neck.

 _'Kamijou. . .Kamijou Touma.'_

A deep, resonating pulse grew in Hana's head at the mention of his father. A growing sense of aggravation, agitation, and anger formed at his very name. He couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"Tch, who cares about that bum? I'm sure he can take care of himself just fine."

Angela frowned disapprovingly as she stopped her pacing.

"Hana. . ."

"THERE HE IS! GET THE BASTARD BEFORE HE RUNS OFF AGAIN AND QUICK!"

The rush of several heavy footsteps brought the small party's attention to the large number of delinquents rushing after them. Seeing the ambush coming their way, Angela quickly grabbed onto the back of Hana's collar and began to run the opposite direction along with the others.

"We can talk later! Right now we have to lose all these thugs first!"

"Wait! Why are they even chasing you guys?! And let go of me! I can deal with these small fries easily! I don't need to run away!" Hana squirmed only for Angela to look back at him with a stern glare.

"We can't fight them like this! You may be strong, but there may be more behind them! Besides, we still have some questions that need answering from a certain scientist as to why they are after him." she explained while glancing back at Dr. Tatsumi. The well cleaned scientist gulped, sweating as he found himself under the judgmental eyes of a nun.

"I'll. . .explain as best I can later. I myself don't understand why they're all pursuing me with such fever. Though as a character who holds much classified information, they could be after something. That alone makes me less happy to be caught." Dr. Tatsumi muttered darkly.

A sudden explosive boom echoed behind their retreating backs from the Food Stand Spire. As they left the area, the streets were flooded by more members of Skill-Out. The fighting from inside the building had spilled out to cover the streets.

It wasn't long until the rest of the streets of District 10 followed suit.

* * *

"A-Am. . .I. . .a-alive?"

Through some unknown means, Touma found himself cracking his eyes open after being caught right in the middle of a propane explosion. Not exactly his brightest ideas, but he improvised as best he could. In that moment where everything had been clouded by scorching orange flames, he had been knocked out, not by the fire. but the explosive force. The last thing he remembered was the searing flames and his head hitting the back of what he guessed was either a wall or car. With the circumstances at hand, he wasn't expecting to actually have survived his suicide tactic. The fact that he was must have meant he had drove off Deadlock. Or worse.

 _'Hopefully the guy's still breathing too.'_ Touma thought with a wince as he tried to get his bearings. Deadlock may have been trying to kill him and been after the girls, but that didn't mean he wanted the red suit boy dead.

Where was he? As Touma fully opened his eyes, he discovered that he was no longer in the large parking garage that was the Food Stand Spire. With his senses returning, he realized that he wasn't laying down on the hard concrete floor but something much softer. A sofa? As he sat up slowly from the pain his body was in, he was right and found himself resting back on a ripped maroon three seat sofa.

"You up already? Man, you must be made of some durable stuff if you're able to get back up after taking an explosion head on like that! Just wait until Komaba hears about ya!"

Touma was feeling groggy after waking up, wincing from the searing burns he could now feel crawling around his arms as he tried to find the voice's owner speaking to him. From what he could make out, he was in some kind of warehouse. It seemed to serve as some kind of hideout from what he could tell from the various worn down furniture laying around. He could see sofas adorned with used up bags of junk food and empty cans, tables and seats with cards and ammunition just laid out without a care, crates full of who knows what, and a few TV sets with consoles. Just where was he?

A sharp wince escaped his lips as his hand held the right side of his face. He could feel bandages? Bandages were wrapped around his face with more focus on the right side of his face where he could feel some of the more burned skin taken care of. Than there was his right arm, which he felt had suffered the brunt of the explosion, wrapped up in what oddly looked like tape? His white button up uniform was gone, most likely reduced to burnt rags as he could feel a few second degree burns on his chest. His orange shirt, which had been sliced down the middle already, resembled some tattered vest of rags as he could see some burned holes showing off the wounds below.

"I'd be careful moving around. Didn't have a lot of bandages with me when I brought you over, so I had to make due with some Hard Tapping and some alcohol that was laying around. Put too much stress on those muscles and you'll be suffering from more than just burns."

Walking over to the beat down sofa, Touma saw who had pulled him out of the literal fire. The man looked like your typical delinquent that roamed the streets of District 10, wearing dark clothing designed with white crosses, a heavy duty vest, and a dark beanie cap over his short dark hair. His face was sharp with onyx eyes that looked back at Touma with something akin to respect. For what, he had no idea.

"Hard Tapping? What's that?" Touma couldn't help but ask as he accepted the soft drink the stranger was handing him. Now that he thought about it, his voice was a bit hoarse and still had the taste of blood. He was grateful for the fuzzy soda before grimacing slightly. What was that? It tasted like apples mixed with tomatoes. It would have to do though if he wanted to clean out that copper and grime in his mouth.

The delinquent snorted with a laugh at the reaction, "Yeah, Applemato usually takes you back on the first sip. Better than the Soybeankiwi Cider. That one is really gnarly." he smirked before sitting back on a wooden crate close by and popping open his own drink, "As for what Hard Tapping is, it's an elastic band used for Powered Suits that gives it its mobility to move ten times the speed of a vehicle. It's for military use, but we've found an even better way to use it. But I'd be careful, the taping puts a heavy strain on the muscles and joints when used, tearing them to shreds. It can really screw you up." he explained off offhandedly.

". . .And you decided to bandage my arm with that?!" Touma shouted incredulously, "What the hell were you thinking?! Couldn't you have used bandages like a normal person!"

"I told you I didn't have much on me! Even when I brought you back to one of our hideouts, I couldn't find enough to patch you up with other than some gauze! I improvised with what I had. You should be thankful for even patching up your lousy ass!"

Thankful for bandaging his body up with some military taping used for the joints of a mech suit that could cripple him? He was better off with his burns unattended! But as much as Touma wasn't thrilled with the dangerous taping over his body, the delinquent was right. He did treat Touma as best he could with what he had. Sighing grudgingly, he thought to at least thank the delinquent.

"Thanks, I guess. Not sure what would have happened to me if I was left back there too. Deadlock might have finished me off if I was left behind in the aftermath. Just wished you could have used something better than military taping to bandage me up." Touma winced as his burns flared up. Well he would have been worse off if he wasn't patched up, so he couldn't be too upset. He did frown as a question came to mind, "Why did you save me? Not that I'm not grateful, but it just seems a bit odd that you would pick up a random stranger. . ."

"Names Hanzou Hattori, member of the true Skill-Out!" Hanzou introduced himself, "As for the reason why I pulled you out, I just did. When all that fighting broke out between all the smaller factions that call themselves Skill-Out because of that red suit bastard, I saw your fight with him as my boys and I dealt with the fakers causing all the trouble. Than you broke up all the fighting by setting off a big explosion in the middle of the battlefield that sent everyone running. You were passed out and burned all over, so I brought you back out of the goodness of my heart." he smirked.

Something about that didn't seem to assure Touma that Hanzou had done it out of being a good person. He couldn't help but be suspicious.

"Really? You did it because you thought it was the right thing to do?" Funny coming from him. Touma was the kind of person to help others without asking for anything in return. But he had seen from others that his way of thinking was rare. Something uncommon that made others sneer at him., "You said you're part of Skill-Out, right? Aren't you guys a bunch of delinquents who go around harassing Espers with abilities? Why would a thug like you save me? Is it because I'm another Level 0 or because you were expecting something out of it?"

The smirk on Hanzou lips grew as he grew impressed. He chugged the remainder of his soda with a sigh mixed with a grimace before tossing the empty can back with a grin.

"I guess you're not wrong. I'll be honest, if you were some random guy who had been knocked out by the explosion, I would have left you there to burn for all I care. I ain't got much respect for weaklings who can't hold their own even if their zeroes; especially if they're zeroes! But I saw how you handled that red suit wearing asshole with nothing but your fists! The guy was a literal red blur and you were able to keep up with him to the point he fired a damn pile bunker at you, and you dodged it! With nothing but your fists, you fought back against someone who could have killed any normal Level 0 or higher! That earned my respect!" Hanzou proclaimed eagerly with such passion he moved back in his seat.

Hanzou wasn't lying the slightest. The Level 0 sitting in the beat up couch in front of him, patched up with dangerous military tape and visible burns, who had no power whatsoever, had earned his respect by simply putting up his fist against some punk. But it was the way the spiky haired boy had done it. It was obvious who was at a disadvantage in the fight. The red suit boy covered in roller skates was ridiculously fast, wielded a pile bunker of all things, and clearly had no problem with killing his opponent. And than there was this normal looking guy with nothing to combat such an opponent.

The spiky haired boy fought with such tenacity that even had Hanzou taken back. It made him wonder; for what reason did that boy fight? Why would he put his life on the line against such an opponent that would kill any normal thug associated with Skill-Out? Just where had that strength that allowed the spiky haired boy to blow away such a deadly opponent come from?

Hanzou had no idea. But he did know one thing. That boy was strong.

Skill-Out was more than just a group of delinquents with no powers. At least the true Skill-Out was. What they did was not harass Espers indiscriminately. No, they picked out the worst of the lot that got their thrills out of picking on Level 0s and taught them a lesson. Since no one else in the city bothered to protect those Level 0s who were seen as useless, they had decided to take it up on themselves to be the one to step in for those who could not protect themselves from those with power. That was the Skill-Out their leader, Komaba Rituko created. And it was the only true Skill-Out there were.

They were always on the look out for others to join their cause. They would take in just about anyone as long as they followed Komaba's rules and were strong. Unfortunately man power was man power. To Hanzou's distaste they had allowed some weak punks to join to help out with some of their other jobs that didn't involve taking out Espers. But he made sure to only bring in those who proved to him that they were strong.

The grin on Hanzou's face was smug. He found a piece of coal, one that could be polished into a diamond. He had a feeling Komaba would approve of their newest recruit no problem.

"I like your stuff, kid! What do you say? Want to join the one and only Skill-Out?" Hanzou asked as he stood in front of the stunned spiky haired boy. "You're a Level 0 like us. Aren't you tired of being looked down on like you were trash. Of having no power? Of struggling to get by with the lousy resources the Academy gives you? Well that can end if you joins us! Join us, and all those problems will go away! You can live a better life if you fight alongside us to protect those who can't protect themselves!"

Hanzou offered his open hand to the spiky haired boy bandaged up with burns peeking out of the military tape. The grin on his face only grew as he noticed the boy stare at it. Surely he would-

"No thanks. I know I look like a delinquent to some, but I'm just your average high schooler. I really don't think joining a gang is a good idea."

Hanzou's face twitched, his face frozen with a smug grin that was slowly dying. What?

"Did. . .did you say no?" Now his right eye was twitching. It didn't help that the spiky haired boy just looked at him casually as if he had just turned down an offer a snack while on a full stomach.

"I mean, I guess appreciate the offer and all, but I don't want to be part of a gang that just causes trouble for other Level 0s. Plus, I don't even have time to join a club at school with how busy I already am; I think? Not to mention I'm sure my parents would be pissed if I dropped out to join a gang." Touma said flippantly.

"So, you're turning my offer down? Just like that? Why?" Hanzou narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fist. "You can't tell me that your just happy living your life as some lousy Level 0! Aren't you tired of being seen as lesser than by the higher ups? Of being pushed around by even Level 1s?! Don't you want to fight back against them and prove to them that we Level 0s aren't anything to scoff at?!" he said in frustration.

"And how would joining a bunch of thugs who think violence will do them any good be any better?" Touma frowned as he gingerly stood up. He winced from the burns flaring up, meeting the delinquent's eyes as he spoke sternly, "I've seen what Skill-Out has done. My friends were chased by a couple of your goons, threatened, and they didn't even have abilities! Not only them, but I've had to deal with people who call themselves Skill-Out before. Attacking innocent students just because they have an ability! You talk as if you guys are protectors, but all I've seen are a bunch of bullies who think that if they're pushed around they have a right to do the same."

Hanzou scoffed with an expression of disgust.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We don't attack other Espers unless we're provoked or are on our list. You've probably dealt with more fakers. That's the problem. There are a bunch of others groups who call themselves Skill-Out. They carry the title but they don't follow our rules. If they're not following under Komaba, than they're just impostors abusing what we originally stood for. Nothing but a lot of weaklings who act out on their own selfish desires and want to screw things up." he spat.

"You don't have to worry about that though. We'll be fixing that soon enough."

Touma didn't like the sound of that. Something was up. He had seen all the fighting between all the delinquents in the Food Stand Spire while in the middle of his fight with Deadlock. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel unease. It was then that the words of the blonde foreign girl rang through his head.

 _'Just be sure that once you find them, you leave immediately. Otherwise you'll find yourself stuck in the middle of a warzone.'_

A warzone? That girl couldn't have been serious. Could she?

"What are you talking abou-"

Before Touma could understand the situation, both boys heard the loud sound of shattering glass, as if something heavy had broken through. They both stared out to the window panels on the left that allowed the suns rays through to find some odd black canister no bigger than a baseball responsible for the broken shards of glass. It was Hanzou who first realized what it meant. His face grew panicked as his body recoiled.

"Shit! Don't tell me those bastards already-!"

BOOOOM!

Feeling the danger of the canister, Touma had already moved and tossed the beaten down couch over to act as a shield as the grenade went off. It was unlike the explosive force created from the propane tank, but the blast was still enough to rock the entire room. Seeing the make shift barrier, Hanzou knelt down behind Touma as the flames washed over the three seat sofa, leaving licking fire to crawl over. Having survived the explosion, they both stood up to find the entire wall and mirrors where the grenade had flew in from collapsed. And in the wake of the burning wreckage they saw several figures standing by.

Hanzou quickly reached into his pocket for a handgun he kept on him as he glared at the group of delinquents who dared to attack. He set his sights on one delinquent who walked in ahead of the others with what looked like chains in his hands.

"Didn't even bother knocking, huh? I guess even the idiots of Drop Out have begun to make their move. Too bad you've attacked an empty hideout, Viper!" Hanzou sneered.

The mentioned Viper spat to the side with a foul scowl on his bandaged face. Now that Hanzou got a look at the leader of the gang, he noticed that the dark skinned boy was hurt. Gauze could be seen on his forehead and his face was scuffed up with a few bruises. Seemed he had already gotten into a fight earlier.

"I wouldn't say empty, would you?" Viper said dangerously as he rattled his chains, "That fool Komaba left behind one of his top boys all by himself. Wouldn't that stick a thorn in his side if you were to be found a mangled mess. You might say it would even fuck up his operations!" he grinned darkly.

Hanzou subtly ground his teeth. This was bad. While he had dealt with other thugs by himself just fine, he found himself at a disadvantage. Drop Out was a gang of delinquents who specialized in fighting with all sorts of weapons. Bats, crowbars, switch blades, knuckle dusters, grenades, guns, you name it. You would never see one of their members fight with only their fists. And most of them knew better than to flail their weapons around like idiots.

Than their was their leader, known only as Viper. Some dark skinned foreigner who created the group out of Level 0s who dropped out of school due to their lack of progress in developing an ability. The thug was no slouch and knew how to fight. He would be a problem.

Eyes glued to Hanzou, Viper's eyes suddenly dipped to find the other person who was with the Skill-Out. The dreadlocks haired boy's lips pulled back with a furious growl.

"YOU! YOU'RE THE FUCKER WHO COST US OUR JOB! FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Viper yelled madly with a flail of his chains.

Touma glared back at the thug leader as he stood next to Hanzou, "Still up to your crap, huh? I thought I dealt with you earlier. Don't tell me you're still after the girls!?" he shouted threateningly.

Viper was seething, his eyes staring at the spiky haired high school boy with nothing but hate.

"Does it look like I'm after those bitches? Because of you, I lost sight of them, got chewed out by that red suit wearing dick, and lost our chance of getting some sweet Yen for simply capturing some lousy scientist! I'm pretty sure it won't be long until I find that bastard hunting me down for failing the job. All because of you." he said with loathing. He took a step forward, followed closely by the eight other thugs he brought along. His face grew manic, grinning widely as he began laughing like a broken man facing his imminent doom. "I should have known better than following after that blonde prissy bitch. She was like fucking honeypot! Now I'm dead. But not if I focus on doing what she asked of me. I may have lost the scientist, but I can still continue hitting up the other Skill-Outs! If I do that, if I can fuck up the other groups like they asked, than maybe they won't kill me because of the fault of one dumbass!"

Hanzou suddenly grew livid as he seemed to connect some dots in his mind. What Viper had said sounded like they had been apart of some coordinated attacks. The entire day, they had been given word of several of the groups in District 10 being attacked by other gang members in some kind of move to take over their territory. Even Komaba's Skill-Out had been hit in several of their spots. They had lost fellow brothers due to the attacks. It was almost as if someone had been trying to agitate the entire district.

No one knew who was doing the attacks. Everyone was pointing their finger at the other. In a matter of hours fights began to break out. Without answers, blame was thrown and action was taken. Old beefs were brought up, rivalries had escalated, and power moves had been played. And in the act of attacking in the middle of the Food Stand Spire, the only real neutral territory between all those who called themselves Skill-Out, the peace they had unspoken held was broken.

"Are you telling me, that you dumb as brick idiots, are responsible for all the attacks on all the territories?!"

Viper smirked, "Not just us in Drop Out. Red Horns, Devil's Mouth, Vile Dogs, and The Gunners were a part of it. We all gathered together for a little job that paid very well and promised us something that idiot Komaba could never give!"

"And what would that be?" Hanzou hissed as set his gun's sights on the deranged dark skinned thug.

"To prove to all those bastards up top that we zeroes are nothing to laugh about! And the downfall of their precious System!" Viper grinned wildly before lashing out with his chains.

Before Hanzou could pull the trigger, the gun in his hand was snatched from his hand by the coiling metal links. With a swing of the chains, his firearm was tossed aside onto the ground crawling with flames. Even if he was to reach for it, he would only burn his fingers from the heat of the metal. With the weapon out of the way, Viper ran ahead with his chains reeling back for a wide swing of his metal links.

Reaching into his pocket, Hanzou leaned over to Touma just before the thug leader reached them.

"Shut your eyes and run!"

"What?"

Viper was only a few steps away. Swinging his right chains way back, he was ready to knock one of the two back from the blunt force hitting their face. That was until something small and black flew up. A bright flash of light suddenly blew up right in his face, engulfing the entire warehouse.

"What the fuck!?"

A flash bang had gone off right in his face. Not only had he and his followers been blinded, but another bomb had gone off a second later with an odd hiss. An uproar of smoke began to blanket everything in sight as a smoke grenade followed next. His hands flew for his burning retinas as he heard running footsteps pass him by along with the sounds of a few of his men being knocked down.

Even as his eyes began to regain their ability to see clearly, nothing but a room full of smoke and dying flames greeted Viper.

* * *

Touma found himself running through the littered streets of District 10 once again as the smoke bellowing warehouse behind him disappeared from their sights as they escaped. He coughed as some of the lingering smoke had entered his lungs. Today just seemed like it was going to involve explosions, wasn't it? Just his rotten luck at play.

Staring ahead, he found his eyes on the back of the delinquent who helped him escape. Hanzou, was it?

"Why did you help me out?" he couldn't help but ask as they rounded a corner and ran into a narrow alley. Both boys who could have passed of as no good delinquents pressed themselves against the wall, hiding in the shadows to avoid the rushing footsteps of their pursuers passing them by.

Hanzou was not happy. Not in the slightest. He clicked his teeth, watching the members of Drop Out pass their hiding spot over and turn their sights ahead. This was certainly unexpected. His eyes briefly glanced over to the spiky haired boy who rejected his offer before reaching into his pants for his cell.

"You got nothing to do with this. Just because you're a Level 0 like the rest of us, doesn't mean you ya got to be dragged into the shit with us. Even though I would have liked for you to join our cause, you apparently don't want that." Hanzou said with some scorn as he began to dial a number, "I told you, Skill-Out isn't what you think it is. We protect our fellow zeroes from those who wish to abuse us. Even if we look like a bunch of thugs, punks, delinquents, or gangsters, we only mean to defend those who can't defend themselves. Those guys who just attacked us? They have no right to call themselves Skill-Out." he spat with a face of disdain.

Touma stared at the delinquent with some surprise. While he may have only had a good two weeks worth of memories, he had met plenty of delinquents in his short life. All of them unpleasant. Each run in was with someone who was harassing someone weaker than them. Whether it was to have some fun in picking on someone lower than them, taking their money, or something more unsettling that usually involved a girl who couldn't defend herself from a group of sick bastards, he had come to realize one thing through it all.

The concept of Levels didn't matter. His fist had struck back against Skill-Outs and Espers all the same. It didn't matter what powers they were or were not capable of. They were all capable of cruelty just the same. Which meant they were also capable of good too.

To actually met a Skill-Out who acted out with a sense of moral justice was certainly new. He actually felt bad for misjudging him as some other no good delinquent. After all, he had bothered to help Touma escaped from the other delinquents after them when he could have just left him. That was enough to prove to him that Hanzou wasn't all that bad.

Hanzou's cell rang for several moments to no answer. The delinquent ninja frowned uneasily.

"What the hell? Hamazura should have picked up by now. It's not normal for that idiot to ignore my calls, especially at a time like this. Just what the hell is he doing?"

Recieving no answer, he was ready to give up. Until a message was sent over.

'Stop 'N Run.'

That was an old run down convenient store. Like many of the stores in the district it was nothing more than an empty husk of a building that served better as a hideout for one of the many factions that called themselves Skill-Out' this one belonging to them. The message was short and simple. To others it would be cryptic and make no sense to send over a meaningless name of some random broken down store. But Hanzou knew better.

His friend was in trouble.

The entire district as he knew it was probably in the middle of gang warfare because of some dumb asses for who knows what. It didn't surprise him that Hamazura, and most likely everyone else in Skill-Out, was caught up in the mess erupting on the streets. He growled as he shut his cell and peeked out the corner of the alley. Running away never suited him. If one of his friends was in trouble, than he couldn't stand around hiding.

"If I were you, I'd get out of District 10 as fast as I can. These streets are no place for some high school brat."

Hanzou wasn't going to pester the kid to join his cause. Not now. Not when his comrades were caught in the middle of war with some fakers. Besides it would be pointless to recruit someone who didn't even believe in their cause. Someone without conviction didn't belong in Komaba's Skill-Out.

He didn't need to hear anything from the spiky haired boy as Hanzou found the coast clear. He ran out of the alley to go to the aide of his friend without another thought, leaving behind the boy who he thought was worthy to join Komaba's just Skill-Out.

Left alone, Touma sighed as he walked out to the open, relieved to see that their were no delinquents on the streets. Several sounds of gunshots and even explosions rang out in his ear, putting an uneasy frown on his face. The whole reason he was even in this district was because of their tram dropping them here. And the reason he was still here was due to his friends being chased by a couple of bastards wishing to capture some scientist. As mush as Touma would have loved to leave, he couldn't. Not when Index and Angela were running away from people who sought to get rid of them simply because they were among the pursuers targets.

He didn't like, not one bit, but he was now involved in whatever was going on right now. Even worse was the fact that their was some boy who had once fought the 'original' Kamijou Touma who stood in his way. Knowing his luck, it wouldn't be the last time he saw the red suited boy today.

"Such misfortune." Touma muttered lowly before running off to who knows where.

He wasn't familiar with the streets of District 10. To some, it was pointless to go running around when he had no idea where he was going. But that didn't matter to him right now. Even if he had to run through this entire district ten times over in one day, he would find the others.

Pain raced up the right side of his body, Touma's burns and various wounds shouting back at him to the point he nearly stumbled in his directionless run. He fought past the pain though with a stern scowl on his face.

He truly had no idea what was going on. Not one bit. But if anyone thought that they could harm his friends for their own means, than he would do what he did best.

Kamijou Touma would shattered those fucked up illusions.

* * *

"Where are we?"

Kicking down the worn down double doors, Hana answered Angela back with a grunt as the others followed him. A weak ding rang out as they stepped into the building, everyone noting the empty shelves, trash littered checkered floor with the occasional cracks, and sparking vending machines next to the cashier register at the back of what they guessed was a store. Though unlike the many abandoned shops it looked like someone had made an attempt to clean the place up. Almost like someone had made it their home.

Throwing out his right hand, Hana activated his Electromaster abilities to attract a can of soda to his waiting reach from a dented vending machine. He didn't wait for the others, hopping over the register line to a worn out leather brown seat before kicking up his feet on the counter.

"Welcome to Hana's Hideout! Been hanging around here since our. . .trip misplaced us." Hana answered carefully as he drank. Ah, sweet grapefruit odan. He would never understand why people disliked the experimental flavors Academy City created. Sure, they were odd and had strange tastes, but that's what he loved about them! "Originally some Skill-Out punks ran around here as their base, but I cleared them out like roaches. Man, you should have seen them! Their legs were twitching like them too!" he laughed loudly.

Angela frowned as she walked over to her brother. Something wasn't right in her siblings recent behavior. She may have only recently met him among her many other siblings as of a week ago, but she was sure she a good idea of the boy she liked to refer to as Sparky.

Misaka Hana was a boy who loved nothing more than to laze about his home, play soccer, read action manga, had a strange taste in drinks, and preferred to stay out of a fight, finding them pointless and saying that such things were better left to heroes, not middle schoolers. For a Level 4 who had control of electricity, he was rather lazy. Kinda like a sparking sloth. Even though he had shown her that despite his lax nature he knew how to fight to the point he could keep up with one of their more ferocious siblings, Kaen, he still would rather do anything but get into such situations.

The chestnut boy leaning back without a care in front of her wasn't anything like the sparky sloth she had come to happily call brother. Who she was looking at appeared bloodthirsty, relishing in fighting others and leaving them as smoking, twitching messes. The boy who laughed and grinned at the memory of electrocuting a couple of delinquents wasn't anything like the Misaka Hana who stood alongside her in facing a Magic God. After all, she had seen how he looked like when fighting another to the point he reduced them to a burning crisp.

Regret. Shame. An emptiness had stared back at her as she remembered her brother harming another person who stood in their way, a complete stranger who had no ties to them. She still remembered the words he had uttered only to himself.

 _'It didn't have to be this way. There's no need for violence when we could have just talked, damn it. Just what the hell does this even get either of us?'_

It was almost funny when you thought about it. How could a child born from a certain Level 0 and the Level 5 Railgun hate fighting? Both parents were excellent fighters and had no problem bloodying their knuckles. Misaka Mikoto was well known for being more than eager to get into a fight. You would think the offspring of the two would be the same. But Hana had shown he wasn't like his mother in that regard. Fighting wasn't something he enjoyed. He would have loved nothing more than to find a peaceful solution. Just because he had the power to hurt others, didn't mean he had to use them for that reason. Having power was more than beating others up.

That was the Misaka Hana that Angela knew. Who she met was akin to a stranger.

"Are you feeling alright, Hana?" Angela asked in concern as she set Toka down beside the front of the register. Index and Dr. Tatsumi stood right behind her, the latter eyeing the hideout in disgust while Index scrutinized the Electromaster for some reason.

Hana quirked a brow at his sister before scoffing.

"What makes you say that? I'm perfectly fine. The better question is, are you alright? We got separated from another when we got here. I got dropped off in a literal trash can in District 9! Where did you find yourself?" he asked with concern in his eyes.

Angela sighed in relief. Something was definitely wrong with him, she was sure of that. But it seemed he was still himself in that regard.

"District 7 actually. I was lucky I guess. I found myself with some good people that night." she said with a smile aimed back to her future mother.

Hana found his eyes landing on the silver haired nun, still dumbfounded at her stature. It was hard to put the image he had come to know of the busty Archbishop with the flat chested nun in training. Not to mention, he slightly frowned, he found himself anxious around her. Weird.

"I guess you did. That's good to know at least. Though that makes we wonder how Toka-onee-san's been doing. Hopefully she hasn't been hanging around here like I have. She may be older than me, but she doesn't have an ability. And knowing how much she takes after that bum, she's bound to get into trouble with all the punks running around." he said with concern.

Angela gave the electromaster a flat stare.

"You remember what she did to both Kaen-onii-san and Hachi-onii-san when they got into a fight over bunny girls and cat girls, right?"

Hana shuddered in his seat. He'd never seen a girl capable of holding to high school boys in their final year in a headlock like that before in his life. And the two older brothers in question were candidates for Level 5 in their timeline! Just how the hell did a girl with no abilities knock them out!? Guess that did answer his concerns of whether his older sister could take care of herself.

"Just how many siblings do you have?" Index asked curiously.

Angela scratched the back of her head nervously. That was a hard question to answer. She couldn't even count the number on both her hands.

"More than our bum of our father could care about." Hana spat, earning his a disapproving glare from his sister. He rolled his eyes in return before getting off his seat and walking over to the group. He stopped in front of the dark haired scientist with a scowl up at the taller man.

"More importantly, why is this guy here? From what I can guess, he's the whole reason you girls were being chased by Skill-Out. Don't tell me," his eyes suddenly snapped open wide in anger before he grabbed the front of Dr. Tatsumi's dirtied white coat with a snarl, "He's the reason Toka-onee-san is knocked out!? You fucking bastard!"

Sparks began to pop off his gripping hands, more than ready to light up the scientist with glee. Angela quickly went to his side, easing Hana back with a hand on his shoulders.

"No! It's nothing like that! In fact, it was Toka-onee-san who was protecting him from Skill-Out!"

"So, it was those assholes who knocked her out!?" Hana spat as his entire body reacted to his volatile state as electricity crawled all over him. Angela found herself stepping back as a few sparks hit her, causing her to flinch in pain.

"It wasn't them either! I don't understand why, but when fat-I mean Kamijou-san touched her, she fell unconscious!"

Index nodded along as she explained the strange reason why the unruly haired girl had been knocked out.

"For some reason, Touma's Imagine Breaker activated when he touched her. Something was negated. Something magical that had been seeping into her body, causing some kind of odd effect on her." Index explained, eyeing Hana strangely.

It was there. The same odd magical energy that had infected Toka before Touma had negated the magic. Like a small hissing leak from a tank, Index could feel the same energy attributed to a curse on Hana's body. She couldn't identify it though. It was something completely new to her, a new spell that wasn't cataloged in the many grimoires she had memorized in her library. Now that she was up close to the chestnut boy, she couldn't help but feel goosebumps on her skin. Whatever that magic was, it wasn't right. Curses never did feel right.

Dr. Tatsumi rose a brow at what he was hearing. Magical? He couldn't help but scoff at the very idea. Leave it to kids to say some odd things.

"So, once again it was that idiot's fault, huh? Why am I not surprised?"

The tight grip on Dr. Tatsumi's lab coat was released with a hiss of loathing. The nuclear scientist quirked a brow at the electromaster's behavior, sensing the pure hostility he was emitting as if they were sparks produced from his electricity. What a volatile child. That was just your average Esper for you, in his opinion anyway.

Angela scowled unhappily as Hana stared at the tiled floor, the chestnut boy's shoulders trembling as electricity bounced around his body. She had just about enough of her younger brother's behavior. Now was not the time for him to be throwing a tantrum. He was acting just like Toka!

Sharp green eyes widened as Angela made a connection between her two siblings. That's right, Toka had reacted the same way when their father was brought. Acting hostile and resentful at the mere mention of his name. That wasn't right. It was completely unlike them when the ebony nun thought about it clearly.

It was no secret that a few of Kamijou Touma's children hadn't the best opinion about him. What child would? It wasn't that their father was a horrible person, it was the opposite. Kamijou Touma was the hero found in the stories they had all been told of in their childhood. A man who fought for what he thought was right, willing to stand before the entire world as the villain for the mere wish of protecting one girl who had caused him nothing but grief. He was someone who traveled the world in search of others who were in need of saving, to find that one cry that was too pained to even utter a whisper of help. When one thought of Kamijou Touma, one could only think of a hero above heroes.

But Kamijou Touma was human. And he had flaws as all humans did. One of his biggest being that he would never stick around one place for long. Always choosing to leave and continue on his way, leaving the people he truly loved and cared about to live their lives without him by their side. A man who seemed to always seek out solitude despite all the love that welcomed him at his back. When one truly thought of Kamijou Touma, one word resounded perfectly clear.

Isolated.

Through events Angela wasn't clear on, Touma was responsible for the birth of more than a handful of children. His heart had touched many others and those who had loved him dearly had bore his children. Angela's own mother was one of the many. Which of course left Touma as the father of more than a dozen children who only ever had asked for one thing in their lives. A father.

Touma wasn't a bad father. At least not in Angela's honest opinion. After all, she understood what his thelema pushed him to do. To save whoever was in his sights. To fight against the cruelty of the world with nothing but a fist. And that lead him to always be on the move doing what she felt was god's work. Which was kinda ironic when you realized there was no one as truly as godforsaken as Kamijou Touma. And despite his busy work, he always did his best to stop by their home in London to visit her and her mother, especially during the holidays if he could.

But there were others who didn't think so highly of their heroic father. A few who had held grudges even in his death. Their were some bitter feelings and wounded hearts among his children. Some would even react violently when they confronted their father for all that they had gone through. It was to be expected. But nothing that couldn't be healed.

Hana though wasn't like their more resentful siblings. Neither was Toka. Sure, Hana didn't think too highly of his father, always acquainting him to that of a bum. But he loved him all the same, even if he wouldn't admit it. He was kinda of a tsundere in that regard, just like his mother had been. Toka was different, she loved her father the most and took after him the most. It was almost like she was a gender bent version of him. She would never curse out her father even if she too had held her own bitter feelings despite how much she loved her hero of a father.

Since they had arrived in the past and reunited, Angela had bore witness to the drastic change in behavior her siblings had displayed when she brought up their father. She had never seen them act that way before even though they had only known another for a few days. Something was clearly wrong. Something had changed within their hearts once they stepped through the magical gate that lead them to the past. But what?

"You're cursed."

Index's voice had spoken firmly, catching both Angela and Hana off guard. Dr. Tatsumi looked at the silver haired nun skeptically. She didn't pay any of them any mind, stepping closer to the sparking chestnut haired boy with a firm scowl as Hana felt the sudden need to step back from the silver haired sister. His hand began to tense without his notice.

She could clearly see it now. For just a millisecond, Index had caught sight of the corruptible magic that was seeped deeply into Hana's body. To anyone else, it would have been missed. But she had a perfect memory, able to see even the frame rates of her favorite anime with ease to spot the simplest of detail. She had an inkling to what was effecting Hana as a curse, but now that she had seen it up close as it reacted to something Angela had said, she could identify it as an honest to god curse. She could even state the effects to some degree now.

Anger. Agitation. Violent tendencies. Like a dog who was constantly being poked at, he was snapping and growling at the mere mention of a trigger word. She wasn't pleased with what that word was.

Kamijou Touma.

Wasn't Toka the same as well? She didn't appear as violent as Hana did, but she clearly wasn't friendly when she met Touma earlier. She had seemed to have been angered at his very appearance, almost as if he had done some kind of unforgivable act she couldn't forgive. And then Touma's Imagine Breaker activated upon contact with her, dispersing the magic Index was now a hundred percent sure was curse related. Did that mean the two were connected?

Hana began to sweat, an action that confused him as he blinked wearily. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly so nervous? He didn't have any reason to be backing away from Index. But for some reason, his body was unconsciously stepping away from her as if she was some sort of enemy. A mad surge of sparks began to go off in his right hand as his fingers clawed and his lips snarled.

A deep, powerful, corrupting pulse grew from the center of his body.

"Get back."

Index and Angela both frowned deeply as Hana stepped back against the register counter, hitting the counter tops edge as his left hand reached for his temple and gripped it in sudden discomfort. He had no idea why, but he was losing his composure. A strong sense of loathing hit him, his eyes narrowing into slits as he swore he could feel something hot in his eyes threatening to burst out like a broken water tap. Like some automatic feature was activating in defense of something.

"Hana, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this!?" Angela shouted in worry as she took a step towards her younger brother.

Unlike her mother, Angela wasn't born with perfect memory or the ability to detect and analyze magic upon a single glance. Even if she herself was adept at magic and held her own magic name, she wasn't on the same level as her mother. But even she could detect the anomaly of magic that was surging out from Hana's body. She wondered if the electric Esper could even tell that the colors of his azure sparks had begun to shift into a sick emerald green hue. It wasn't right. Small paper thin nicks opened along his skin, spurting blood as he lost control of his ability. It was like poison was spewing out.

After all, magic energies and AIM weren't suppose to mix together like this. It was impossible.

"I SAID GET BAAAAAACCCCKKKK!"

Like a lit grenade, Hana's body exploded with streams of lashing emerald lightning to strike the space around him. They acted like rampaging tendrils that electrocuted everything they smashed. The area around the chestnut Esper was broken apart by the tendrils of corrupted lightning, leaving smoking scars along the tiled floor. One of the emerald tendrils of sparking energy stabbed forward, intent on driving itself towards the cause of the rampage.

Index.

The silver haired nun was too stunned by the sudden appearance of taboo energy born from the mixture of two opposite worlds to move. It wasn't until a rough grown hand had held her shoulders did she begin to step back. Dr. Tatsumi was quicker than the girl, pulling her away from the stabbing tendril as Angela moved in front of the two with her arms spread wide open protectively. The last thing both Index and Dr. Tatsumi saw was the protective back of the older ebony nun in face of the deadly tendril of piercing electricity.

"ANGELA!"

* * *

Hamazura Shiage was tired. Both mentally and physically. It was safe to say today was one hell of a day that had constantly been draining him of everything he was. He wondered if this was how Komaba felt on a regular basis as leader of Skill-Out. It certainly wasn't easy leading even a small group of his fellow Level 0's across District 10 to stomp out the bastards who had caused the sudden street war consuming their home.

At the moment, the shaggy dirty blond delinquent was carefully leading his own party of Skill-Out's that followed under Komaba's leadership to handle the many individual groups of Skill-Out that went against their leader's law and rules. The district abandoned by the city, home to the many Level 0's who had turned their backs against unfair rules and customs of Academy City, was currently in the middle of what you would call a turf war. The peace they had all settled on had been shattered and a war among the streets had erupted. All in a single day.

Skill-Out was a name of an organization that defended Level 0's, and punished those who mistreated and abused their kind based solely on higher levels. That was the true and proud Skill-Out. The one that truly ruled over District 10 for the better of their fellow zeroes without any real power to protect themselves.

But thanks to the city that created them, all those who lacked an ability and caused any trouble were automatically labeled as Skill-Out. What had been a single minded organization had eventually bore splintered factions and groups who took the name for their own agendas that went against what they stood for. It became groups of no good punks picking on Espers who had never attacked zeroes, stealing for their own greed, vandalizing other districts for fun, and attacking innocent students for their own sick pleasures. Those fakers had taken the name Skill-Out and tarnished it.

But among those fake Skill-Outs, there were those who still stood along with Komaba's ideals. Not all of the factions were bad. At some point, all those who called themselves Skill-Out in different names had come to form a wordless peace treaty among them. Certain rules were put in place in District 10 that prevented the groups from attacking another and devolving their home into gang warfare. Despite how many of the factions didn't see eye to eye, they had come to an understanding. After all, no one wanted war.

Yet all that they had agreed on was trampled over the moment one of the factions decided to spill blood over territory. No one knew which factions had started all the bloodshed, some believed it was Devil's Mouth or Drop Out, but one of the groups running around the streets had hit one of Komaba's territories. All those who had resided there had been wiped out in the aftermath of bullet shells carpeting the blood soaked streets. And there was anger.

Hatred. Loathing. And revenge.

It wasn't a surprise that some of Komaba's Skill-Out had retaliated against who they believed had attacked them. From there a chain reaction had been born. Retaliation coveted retaliation. Back and forth the factions began to blame another for all the blood spilled as some of the more vicious gangs took the opportunity to settle some bad blood and settle some scores. And then all that bubbling violence had exploded as the peak of the mayhem burst out into the streets once the neutral grounds that was the Food Stand Spire was broken.

Various members of Skill-Out had been at the spire when a random faction had opened fired on the third floor. Fighting had broken out and it quickly spread to the point someone had caused an explosion that harmed many of the delinquents and brought flames to consume several of the lower floor in the aftermath. From there the fighting had spread from small attacks that had begun in just the first few hours of the first hit to all out brawling on the streets.

"On your left!"

Hamazura headed the words of one of his comrades as he stopped abruptly. From the shadows of an ally a muzzle could be seen stabbing out of the darkness with its sights locked on his small party of five. He clicked his teeth at the threat before his eyes found the back of one of his men shielding him from the spray of bullets. He would have panicked for the safety of his friend but he could make out the large rectangle frame of a see through riot shield along with a few others standing side by side for wider protection. Metal shells peppered the makeshift wall they had created with no sign of breaking through.

The riot shields they were using weren't your ordinary shields. They were Anti-Skill riot shields, designed to withstand the attacks of Espers who could throw hurling balls of metal scorching flames and hunks of solid stone. Whatever ammunition they were firing at them didn't appear to be anything special, just standard and cheap bullets. It just went to show what small fry their enemies were.

Skill-Out, the true Skill-Out, wasn't your average group of delinquents. They knew how to fight and had some tactics. And when it came to weaponry, they always made sure to get their hands on some of the best stuff Academy City had to offer. Of course how they got the equipment and weaponry did take a heist or two.

The shields were strong, but not invincible. Even a steel wall would crumble when it was being battered by countless rapid fire small pebbles eventually.

Reaching for a standard Anti-Skill rifle that was slung across his back, Hamazura carefully aimed through a small space between the riot shields and found his target. He didn't hesitate as he pulled the trigger.

In the end it had only taken a single bullet to end the rain of enemy bullets. Idly Hamazura could make out the dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground in the dark alley. He wasn't sure if he had inflicted a fatal wound or not. Frankly he didn't care. Why should he?

He didn't see the same care when he had found his friends back against a dumpster with bloody holes drilled into their body. It would stupid for them to expect nothing less than the same treatment shot back at them.

With the latest threat out of the way, they continued on their way to their latest destination. The Stop 'N Run. It was one of their bases that they used for stock piling explosives and ammunition. With all the fighting going on, they were in need of reloading their weapons and securing one of their caches. It wouldn't be good for them right now to have one of their bases taken over this early in the war.

Despite feeling his anger take over him, Hamazura couldn't help but grimace. War. To think it had gone this far.

From the northeast of their position several rumbling explosions resounded in the streets of District 10. He could already make out the highlight of flames and smoke rising from wherever the blasts originated. It looked like one of the factions was already busting out some heavy plays. Which meant they had to hurry on over and secure their caches.

Up ahead, Hamazura could see the familiar run down convenient store only just a quick run away. He breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't look like any of the enemy factions had made any moves on their spot yet.

 **BOOOOOOOMMM!**

Spoke too soon.

The front of the store blew up by an unknown blast from within, blinding the small party of Skill-Out's from the offenders as a rush of both smoke and rubble was thrown out to obscure their view. Bits and chunks of the front of the small store pelted everything in its front direction like the spray of a shotgun. Hamazura shielded his face with his forearm from the whipping gust created from the explosion from inside the store before trying to find the cause of the blast from the newly created smoking hole. Something flew out from inside, flung out to be sent rolling onto the streets. His eyes went wide at what he found sprawled out on the ground with wisps of smoke lingering from their bodies.

A nun. Two to be exact. And some lab coat wearing man too. The three were sent flying out from the blast to find themselves on their backs, clearly injured from whatever caused the explosion. He could see visible burns on their body from where he stood. How they survived what he guessed was a point blank blast, he had no idea. It was honestly a miracle to come out that unscathed.

"What the hell is going on?" Hamazura breathed in shock as he made out a silhouette walking out from the hole. He grew alarmed, motioning everyone in his party to ready themselves for trouble. He was expecting a lot of things. A huge thug packed like a tank. A random punk who got a hold of one of their stolen rocket launchers. Even some kind of robot that was on a rampage in their district for some odd reason. What he wasn't expecting was to see a rich middle school boy in a tan blazer vest strolling out.

He grew even more on edge when he noticed the emerald sparks crawling over the boy's body. What he was seeing was a live wire Esper on a rampage.

Groans could be heard from the three knocked back on the streets. Glancing at them, Hamazura noticed that the chestnut haired Esper's eyes were locked exclusively on the two nuns and the adult man. It was obvious who had attacked who. And it didn't look like the three were in any condition to escape from some out of control Esper.

Hamazura grit his teeth at the scene as he held his party from acting. They had no reason to get involved with whatever the hell was going on. They had one objection, secure the cache. There was enough trouble going on around them. What was important was protecting their own. The last thing they needed was an Esper getting mixed into all of this and taking them out this early in the mess.

"Focus on the cache. Leave the Esper alone and secure the explosives!" Hamazura ordered.

No good ever came from helping others. No one ever helped them. Why bother turning a leaf now? The world was cruel. This was just another example in this world controlled by those with absolute power.

"H-Hana. . .please. . .stop."

The five Skill-Out's following along with Hamazura quickly passed by the scene and entered their hideout to complete their objective. Hamazura was close behind them. Until his body came to a stop with the plea falling on deaf ears. His fingers cracked loudly, the sound drown out by the sound of crackling electricity and the monotone voice responding back to the dark haired nun.

" **New Objective Detected. Index Librorum Prohibitorum has been locked on as the top priority target.** " The chestnut haired Esper said robotically as some odd red occult like sigils glossed over his eyes. His movements even came off as robotic, stiff and twitchy as he came closer to the three. Glancing back, Hamazura saw the older nun stand over her friends, who were struggling to get back up, protectively, acting as a shield. She was no better off then them. He could see that the front of her robe had nearly been torn through and burns marred her skin. It looked like she was struggling to even stand.

That nun was standing up against an out of control Esper. It didn't look like she may have had an ability either. She was someone without power. Just like them.

So. . .why the fuck was she smiling?

Weakly with visible strain, the ebony haired nun spread her arms out wide to shield those behind her from harm. All while smiling at the Esper who showed nothing but hostility to her. He couldn't help but stare with a gaping mouth.

 _'Is she. . . an idiot?'_

Was she asking to die?

"Hana. . .please snap out of it. I know you don't mean to hurt us. That's not the Sparky that I know."

Idiot. God damn idiot.

The sparks of sickly emerald electricity weaved together to form six twitching tentacles around Hana. The Esper had no words to respond. Only action. The lightning tentacles paused before aiming forward in stabbing motions, intent on acting swiftly.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!

" **Vestige of Imagine Breaker detected. Proceeding with execution.** "

God. Damn. Idiot!

Before the lightning spears crossed the space between the Esper and the nun to stab her through, they whipped wildly around Hana to deflect the gunfire locked onto him. Hana's neck creaked in the direction of the ensuing gunfire to find a dirty blond haired delinquent sweating nervously, panic clear on his face.

"Idiot, I'm a god damn fucking idiot!" Hamazura roared over the sound of his automatic gunfire.

What the hell was he doing?! This had literally nothing to do with him! Right now, he could have gone ahead and secured the cache, safe from harm instead of dealing with an Esper. All this could have been avoided if he had just turned his damn back! Instead here he was, firing madly at an Esper that was batting away his bullets without so much as a sweat. He wasn't sure he had ever done anything more stupid.

" **. . .New Target Identified. Hamazura Shiage has become top priority along with Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Proceeding with elimination of targets.** "

More sweat ran down Hamazura's face as his heart pounded against his chest. How the hell did the creepy sparky kid know his name? He thought he was a electromaster, not a telepath! The magazine clicked, signaling the empty case that was quickly swapped out for a new one before the lowly Level 0 returned fire. Against an Esper who was probably a Level 4 from what he could see, firing his rifle was all he could do.

Like flailing accurate whips, the lightning tentacles easily deflected ever bullet fired upon Hana's way. It wasn't long until the pepper spray of metal shells ran dry as Hamazura ran out of ammunition. The dirty blond zero clicked his teeth. The rifle was useless. Throwing it aside, he flung his left arm out, allowing a concealed small handgun the size of his fist to slide out of his sleeve into his open hand. It wasn't much but it was all he had. Among a few small tricks.

Hana's eyes locked onto the small handgun with complete focus of the threat, albeit small. Then something small and black was flung at him in his small moment of distraction. It was cylinder in shape and emitted an odd sounding hiss. One of the crackling tentacles snapped, flying through the air to quickly deal with the unknown threat. But before he could strike it, a single shot was fired and the cylinder erupted into a blast of scorching flames in his sight. The roaring torrent of fire crashed over him quickly, consuming the tendril of electricity corrupted by magic and soon flooded over him. A crop of fire soon blocked his body from sight of all those watching by.

Left arm trembling as Hamazura held it still after firing the shot, he couldn't help but laugh weakly, "H-Holy shit. That actually worked!?" He couldn't believe it. He was actually thinking that the Esper would have reacted faster than him and swatted the small explosive propane cylinder away. The plan wasn't suppose to work. He was going to have to thank Hanzou for teaching him that trick later. At least that dealt with the Esper.

Too bad that was just wishful thinking.

Just as quickly as the flames had consumed the sparking live wire Esper, they were dispersed by the tendrils of crackling electricity fanning out. A strong wind was kicked up that seemed to slightly push everyone close by back. Hamazura grunted with a foul curse on his lips. He should have known better. If the kid was a Level 4, than even something like this wouldn't be enough to even knock him back. Eyes fighting to see as the wind continued to push him back, he found them snapping wide open as his vision was blocked by a vile colored wall of crackling electricity in the form of a clawed hand made from the six tentacles. He couldn't do a thing as the large hand snatched him up, wrapping its fingers around his abdomen before clenching tightly. An audible strain of bones threatening to break could be heard as he screamed in pain. The hand of burning electricity lifted him off the ground before spinning his body around, tossing him back like a pitched baseball at the front of the battered convenience store with a boom that shook the small store.

A curtain of rubble and dust fell over the store front, settling down a moment later to reveal the dirty blond teen laying back against the dented, cracked wall. Burns marred his favorite hoodie in the shape of a large hand wrapping around him, blood ran down his lips among bruises and small cuts. His head rested against the wall as he struggled to breath after being tossed with such force. His vision swam as he fought to keep his eyes from shutting. The moment they did, he would be out for the count. And at the hands of a monster.

"S-Shit. . .this is what a I get for. . .sticking up for someone else. . .h-huh?" Hamazura gravely chuckled before coughing up blood onto the ground. He smiled grimly as he heard the crunch of footsteps making their way over along with the crackle of electricity ready to fry him up now that he was beaten tender. With what strength he still had, he rose his left arm up and fired the last of his small handgun's bullets at the approaching electromaster. Just as before, the bullets were deflected without any effort.

So, this was it? Dying to an Esper, huh? He should have seen that coming. He really should have. In this world ruled by those with power, it was only natural for the weak to be rid of by the strong. He was an Esper with no real power, having never awakened his own Personal Reality that would have granted him a power as simple as bending a lousy plastic spoon. No matter what kind of drugs they had him take, no matter what kind of mental tests they had him run, no matter how much time and effort they had put into him, he couldn't develop any signs of growing a power of his own.

Hamazura was a Level 0. Someone with no true power, no value, no worth. Just another nobody stomped out by someone with all the power to do whatever they felt like. Just a piece of trash to be thrown out when his time came up.

But. . .at least he had done something of worth. As his eyes continued to fight to stay open despite his imminent death coming closer, his eyes wandered past the sparking Esper to the three people who stood away. Away from harm, still breathing. Still alive.

His lips trembled, wanting to speak up as loud as he could. To shout at the slow headed nun who stood by, watching Esper approach Hamazura with an expression of panic and worry, to run away as fast as she could with her friends. He was going to die. The last thing he wanted was for his death to be pointless. Serving as a distraction was the least he could as a good for nothing Level 0.

 _'Sorry, Komaba, Hanzou. Looks like you're going to have to count me out of the party this time. Cause this Level 0 is going to have to sit out from our all the fun.'_

The shadow of the live wire Esper fell over Hamazura's beaten body, signaling his nearing end. Though he was too weak to lift the empty handgun, he still looked up at the odd Esper known as Hana with a melancholic grin. He wondered, if that boy who produced lightning and had an empty gaze would remember a Level 0 like him. Probably not.

The six tentacles of corrupted emerald electricity wrapped around in a complex motion to form the large deadly clawed hand that stretched out from Hana's back. The crackling hand flexed it's fingers, more than eager to plunge them deep into their target's body like a giant lance. It reared back, ready to strike.

Hamazura released a deep sigh as his body slumped back.

"Guess this is it then. Nothing more a Level 0 like me could do."

The hand made of sparking, crackling, watts of electricity moved swiftly, plunging its fatal claws into the dirty blond delinquent in a blur.

At least, that was the plan anyway.

Too distracted by his target, Hana was unable to react in time to the fist drilling into the right of his face. His eyes bulged as his face was mashed by the knuckles of the fist knocking him off his feet and away from the Level 0. His body hit the street, rolling over several times before coming to a stop that left him facing up at the sky. The sudden attack left the boy stunned, his body twitching erratically like a machine that had its functions interrupted by a wedged wrench in its gears.

Hamazura was in a similar state, sans the large bruise on his face. He stared up at his savior, stunned at their sudden appearance as they cracked their knuckles with a fierce grin.

"I take a nap for a bit and this is what I wake up to? Seems I'm going to have to step up and act like a proper onee-san, huh?"

With a grin of determination on her face, Toka turned around to face the slowly rising Hana. She punched her right fist into her palm, ignoring the gaping dirty blond behind her as she squared her shoulders.

A constant stream of toxic electricity flowed from Hana's body as he turned his eyes to the newest threat to enter the picture. The tendrils created from his ability quickly flew up to form a large clawed hand, crackling wildly with an eagerness to thrash its target. His neck creaked, cracking as his eye glowed a deep read.

" **New target acquired. Proceeding to eliminate Vestige of Imagine Breaker.** "

Another explosion erupted close by as Toka and Hana stared off. And like others in the street of District 10, another fight broke out.

* * *

A red, rusted wrench swung a few inches away from Touma's sweaty face as he backed away in time to avoid the attack. A delinquent who's face was shadowed by his dark blue hoodie swore loudly before swinging erratically at the dodging high school boy. But each swing missed by a hairs margin. It was pissing him off! The hoodie wearing delinquent was growing fed up of the annoying game of wrench tag. It was time to pull out the literal big guns!

Reaching into the back of his pants waist for the concealed gun on his person, the delinquent was ready to empty his entire magazine into the spiky haired boy's face. That is, until the soon to be dead high schooler used his single moment of distraction to reach for his gun to dig his knuckles deep into his stomach. The delinquent's lungs rasped with the loss of his breath from one direct punch. He couldn't believe it. How was some random, normal looking punk capable of hitting that hard?!

Rage turned into jarring pain as the delinquent found himself eating a knuckle sandwich in the face from a left straight punch to his face. His face was mushed together, a single tooth flying out as he quickly fell back to the streets. Among other thugs like him.

Sweat now running down his face in small streaks that hit the pavement with soft plings, Touma could now breath a sigh of relief now that the latest thug had been dealt with. He couldn't help but lean on his knees, ignoring the other thugs scattered around him, unconscious and groaning. And in some cases deathly silent. He grimaced, spying the still slick red puddles underneath some of the Skill-Out thugs.

It was utter war at every corner Touma ran into. With no clear direction to go on in his search of the two nuns, a high school girl, and a scientist, he was left to search every street in District 10 for any signs of his two roommates. Instead of finding either one of them though, he found himself running into fights between different factions of Skill-Out. And those faction didn't seem to care about some random student accidentally stumbling into their fights. Bullets and knives didn't ask questions, and neither did they. Even though Touma had nothing to do with any of the fighting going on in the streets belonging to Skill-Out, he was still dragged into their fighting and forced to beat down whoever got in his way. How he had ran out of the chaos without getting shot, he had no idea.

Was that lucky? Considering he instead got punched, kicked, cut, grazed by bullets, shocked by stun batons that would cause Himegami's eyes to sparkle, and even spat on in one case, he wasn't completely sure. With an annoyed grunt, Touma quickly picked himself up and continued his aimless running. But just as his feet hit the streets in a sprint, he felt the shaking of earth underneath his shoes from what he could guess was another explosion close by. Again. Just what the hell had happened to District 10 to leave it as a war zone? Shouldn't Anti-Skill have moved out already to deal with all those fighting? Even if this district was generally avoided by them and Judgement, they still should have acted to keep the peace and make sure the trouble didn't cross out into the other districts. This whole situation just didn't seem right.

"All I wanted to do was go out for a simple breakfast for crying out loud! How the hell does that devolve into crossing into a gang war!? Seriously, just how shitty is my luck!? It's only been three days since I left the hospital and I already feel that I'll be visiting it again!" Touma screamed out in frustration to the sky.

Touma scratched his head furiously, feeling his sanity begin to crumble at the situation. At this point, what else could possible go wrong at this point?!

"Get back here, you fucking little brat! Just come with us peacefully and we won't have to hurt you!"

"Nyaa! Get away from me, you disgusting lolicons!"

"L-L-Lolicons!? You little bitch! Just for that, I'm going to strip you naked! You'll be so humiliated, you're going to wish you were nicer! Than we'll see who the lolicon is!"

"Essentially, you!"

"Now you're just asking for a spanking!"

A spastic twitch grew on Touma's annoyed face. Running across from him, he suddenly found a little blond girl in some frilly dress reminiscent of an idol and red beret running away from a Skill-Out delinquent who was spouting some very lolicon-ish threats to the teary eyed elementary school girl. Seeing this, the normal high school boy's patience snapped. Along with his knuckles following in suite with a crack.

So, he couldn't even go searching for his friends without running into another stroke of bad luck? What were the chances of running across a pervert preying on a poor little girl in the streets of District 10? If you were a certain Kamijou, pretty high. If not definite. And of course he couldn't just ignore what he just saw. Finding the girls was important, very important with all the fighting spreading around the district, but he he had no choice but to intervene.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this one. I really did need something to vent my frustrations on. And what better punching bag than a no good pervert?" Touma grinned evilly before chasing after the pair.

Such misfortune. But in this situation, it was the delinquent's misfortune.

* * *

 **Between The Lines #3.**

 **Top Secret.**

Project #2874479: _Code Name_

 _Reality Giver._

Status: _Hiatus._

Head of Development: _N/A._

Subject: _General report detailing the experimentation of further developing the remnants of Level Upper using the base formats of Five_Over, The Misaka Network, and The Dark May Project to eliminate the concept of Level 0s._

 _After the destruction of the previous Level Upper Network created by Kiyama Harumi, Board Member _ has authorized the further study of the Level Upper Network to understand its limitations and potential, under the eyes of Academy City. By using the research and blueprints concerning The Misaka Network, along with the Five_Over experiment and The Dark May Project, the study is to reach a level that surpasses the capabilities of The Misaka Network to create a machine that can replicate and perform all the Abilities tied to its network. By using the Reality Giver, there is hope to permanently implant a specific ability onto the subject, granting them their own Personal Reality. If successful, plans are in development to mass replicate the technology to eliminate the concept of Level 0s from Academy City._

 _Given the Code Name, Reality Giver, the device has shown progress in recent experiments using the subject's brainwaves, duplicated, to be implanted into the other subjects brainwaves, using the resource of forgotten Child Errors with ability Levels ranging from 2-3. The subject, a Level 0, has proven to show signs of gaining Personal Reality after days of application with the Reality Giver, seeming to have copied one of the afflicted subjects own ability or discovering their own after rejection. Further study is needed before findings can be brought up to the other Board Members._

 **. . . . .**

 **Addendum:** Project #2874479: _Code Name_

 _Reality Giver **[Level Eater]**._

 _As of today, development of Project #2874479: Code Name, Reality Giver, has been ceased by orders of _ and _._

 _Reasons for project's development ceasing are detailed in _ report. Due to the new nature of Reality Giver's power, it has been code named, Level Eater._

 **Report #0003.**

 ** _Written by, _._**

 _After further research of the Reality Giver, it has been discovered that just as the previous Administrator of the Level Upper Network, the stress of the networks hosts become far too much for not only the subject to handle, but those connected to the network. Despite attempts to reduce the creation of an AIM Burst, an Illusion Beast is still born. Procedures were in place to swiftly eliminate the birth of the entity. Though a new phenomenon has been discovered in due to the new nature of the Reality Giver's format and power; AIM After Burst, AIM AB._

 _Those who were connected to the new network has lost control of their Personal Reality, their AIM Diffusion Fields seeming to twist and deform the Esper's body in the after birth of the AIM Burst. What's left behind are entities of pure AIM, reminiscent of walking corpses, that act solely to devour Espers with similar Personal Realities. Further study of these beings are to be later visited if possible._

 _The Administrator of The Reality Giver Network has shown to go through a new form of AIM Burst. It is unknown what this new entity could entail as each burst is quickly brought down before it is fully birthed._

 _The Level Eater has shown to do more than just connect itself to the other users of the network. While those who are connected to the Administrator share their Personal Reality, it has been discovered that the Administrator 'devours' one Level of all those connected to the network. The Administrator seems to build up all the Personal Realities strength using the devoured Levels, digesting the gathered realities to further strengthen the Abilities to the level of 4, possibly 5. In theory, a simple ability such as Telekinesis at Level 1, with the gathered consciousness of countless Espers of similar Personal Realities, can rise to Level 5; the first of its kind._

 _It is at this stage in the experiment, where the Administrator of the Reality Giver is to discover their own Personal Reality, that things go awry. Details are stricken due to the nature of the backlash. All those who have participated in the experiment are to be removed from the records. If must, plans have been made to stage kidnappings and death of those who have disappeared._

 _Until further cautions and solutions to the problems can be created, the development of Reality Giver has been put on hold until further notice. And if must, its research will be left to remain dormant in the recesses of District 10's main nuclear reactor, Hoshi._

* * *

 _ **A city wide attack has begun to envelope Academy City. The center point of all this chaos? District 10.**_

 _ **Deep within a facility that creates radioactive energy, a hidden threat resides, waiting to devour whoever frees it from its cage. The power to consume the very System that created it and leave nothing behind.**_

 _ **The clock has begun to tick. Eventually, all those involved will meet in the middle for the climax of this story. What awaits is not for the faint of heart. Only those with no power could ever understand.**_

 _ **What guides that fist of yours? Is it just the memory of someone you can no longer reach out and save? Or would it be selfish to call those emotions your own? What answer could a husk ever reach?**_

 _ **When a star burns, what is left behind?**_

 **There we go! Things are escalating with every chapter, don't ya think? I'd say we're two chapters away to reaching the very peak of all this chaos! The final showdown is coming! Which begs the question; what will be left behind in the aftermath of all this violence?**

 **Now that this is done, I'm going back to taking a break. Which means it's time for games, and if I got the time, going out for sushi! I'm eating Udon and Spicy Girl's tonight!**

 **Remember to read and review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	6. Powerless

**NeoShadows here again, meaning it's that time of the month again! You're monthly release of A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps is here to delight. And we got an action packed chappy for ya today!**

 **From the looks of it, we've got three chapters left before we reach the end of the arc, 2/3 of which are already done and awaiting editing while I work on the last chapter and the final battle. Who know's? If I can finish the last chapter and get to the Epilogue chapter, I'll update the remaining chapters sooner than a month. Hopefully I can get my house hunting done in time for me to relax and get back to my old schedule of weekly updates with my other stories.**

 **Now to get to reviews so we can get to the nice succulent meat of the story.**

 **DNA Works : You're getting there, kind of. Whatever is affecting the future children does mess with their emotional states concerning their parents, mostly Touma. But the magic is much more intricate and complex than you would believe. Trust me, it's doing it's purpose, whether it fails or succeeds. You'll see more of that during the next Arc to come.**

 **BlueJack22: Two months? Nah, you'll get the next chapter now! Glad you're enjoying the Zeroes War Arc. As the first arc, and original one to boot, I'm really hoping everyone likes it. Hard to believe it's already been fifteen years. Even harder to believe it took me fourteen to even discover it. I've missed so much.**

 **Lordrednight: Happy to hear! I was actually nervous to dive into ToAru's sect on FF. It was only thanks to ArmorCoreNineBall that I went through with uploading this little story. I hope I can keep you entertained. As for your guess; Nope! I know who you're mentioning, and you're wrong.**

 **Thewookie1: War truly never changes, it's the same even if it's on lowly streets. We're about to see some cursed Hana action! Of course that mean's we got some action in store for our man, Touma! And I think Touma's beyond something as trivial as Level 6. He's not known as The One Superior to God for nothing.**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: I've always loved writing fight scenes, so nice to hear that you enjoyed the short battle between Deadlock and Touma. Now we've got a fight between an unruly haired Level 0 and live wire possessed Esper. I've had fun with that one, and Touma's next fight. I'm also glad that I was able to capture Index's structure, that was something I was nervous about getting right.**

 **Itsuki Minami1: Yeah, I've never been a fan of copy and paste fics that show little change to the actual plot. It's nice to mix things up and see what a few ripples will do. And don't worry, I'm far from dropping this fic right now, not when I've already written three chapters this far among with plans for others. For those guessing the future children's parent's, don't worry. I won't spoil it for the others. As for not getting into trouble. . .I can't in good conscious lie to you. I can not promise to behave.**

 **Guest: Eh, I like to respond back to people, even guests. Sadly we won't be seeing Frenda at the moment, that girl's. . .occupied with other matters at the moment. Though that does leave one more person who's watching over little Fremea in all this mess. Ah, glory of Touma's Passive Skill: Event Trigger! Activating events with damsels everywhere for the past fifteen years! Hamazura is the Hamazura-iest!**

 **TazalTerminals: I like that idea, you're certainly thinking close the same wave length as I. Once we get to the Sisters Arc, you'll get a clearer understanding of what's going on.**

 **Anti-Mage29: All the poor bastard wanted to do was get some breakfast was his tub/bed's faucet was fixed. Of course his misfortune would lead him to being involved in some gang war between Skill-Out. And nope! Not forehead senpai's either. But you are right that Toka's mom is from the science side. Swing and a miss.**

 **We're at the end of the reviews for now. I really do encourage ya's to review when ya can! I really do love to answer you guys back, so keep them coming.**

 **Now, without further delay, get to scrolling!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: _I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index, all rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi._**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Powerless.**

 **Street_Fighters.**

Academy City was a city of technological advancement about thirty years ahead when compared with the rest of the world. They had gone so far as to build city structures that could withstand earthquakes, flooding, the harshest of storms, and in some special cases, explosives. Their technology was decades ahead of all the other countries with super computers that went as far as predicting the weather months ahead of time. It was said that their hospitals were so advance that one could be brought back from the very brink of death with no lasting scars if they visited just the right doctor. Hell, the streets were maintained by a small army of cleaning bots! With so many wondrous and miraculous technologies, Academy City required a small continent's worth of power, which left the city to be powered by several forms of clean running energy such as wind turbines, water dams, solar panels, etc.

It was a city packed with revolutionary ideas and inventions. Some would even say it was the hope for a better tomorrow for all of humanity. With all the good it could produce, it wasn't wrong to say that Academy City was leading the world to a much brighter future compared to others.

Though Academy City worked to develop many breakthroughs, it still none the less worked on other hazardous studies as well. Such as nuclear energy. Yes, it did pave the way for cleaner energy sources, but that did not mean it would ignore other energy sources. Nuclear energy, as hazardous and dangerous as it was, was still a powerful source for producing energy to large cities that consumed more than it could possibly produce. As such, it had its own nuclear facilities that were settled in the infamous District 10 that helped in powering the marvel that was Academy City. Though some frowned upon the facilities, it still held an important purpose. To produce energy for billions.

Among other things.

The Hoshi Nuclear Reactor was one of the few nuclear facilities that generated nuclear energy to produce electricity to the city that housed more than a billion people in one city. In fact, it was the leading facility that produced a majority of the nuclear energy for Academy City. The Hoshi Nuclear Reactor was the main reactor and held over more than a hundred hard working men and woman who went through the trouble of making their way through District 10 to generate energy for all of the city and to keep their own lights on at home. It was good work and some even felt pride for it despite how many looked down on the idea of nuclear energy.

Even though it was centered in District 10, home of those who called themselves Skill-Out, the reactor had never been harassed by the delinquents. Why would they? Like them, just about every one who worked in the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor were Level 0s too. They had no abilities and had never gave Skill-Out any reason to bother them. It was almost of an unsaid rule that no one ever mentioned, to never assault the scientists that went about their own business. What would be the point anyway to jump a couple of scientists for their yen when they could be doing it to an over privileged Esper?

As it stood, The Hoshi Nuclear Reactor was one of the few places in District 10 safe from all the trouble wrought by Skill-Out. At least until today.

Bullets littered the airspace, all noise drowned out by the sound of bangs and explosive. The Hoshi Nuclear Reactor's entrance was under siege by various members of Skill-Out not affiliated with Komaba Ritoku in a hail of gunfire. The security bots and personnel hid behind deployed shields, returning fire at the numerous delinquents aiming to break through. Each bullet hit the security shields with metallic clinks like the sound of metal rain drops. To protect themselves from the security retaliation, the Skill-Out thugs hid behind armored trucks stolen from Anti-Skill, peeking out from the corners to take out the guards protecting their target. Every so often. one of each side fell victim to a bullet and fell back in the mad gunfire. The few corpses on the streets did little to deter either side from the chaos.

Hidden behind a reinforced shield created to withstand the destructive force of Espers up to Level 3, one of the security guards on staff spoke into his radio set with panic in his voice, "This is Fukigen So, security personnel at District 10's Hoshi Nuclear Reactor Facility requesting aide, NOW! The shields won't be able to hold up much longer at this rate! We've already lost seven men and the bots are slowing down! I think someone's hacking into their systems to-. . .Wait, what's going on?"

The security officer grew uneasy as the mad spray of bullets came to a chilling pause. All the firing delinquents seemed to step back and hide back into the armored trucks for shelter. It was baffling. If they continued attacking, they could overwhelm them before helped arrived. Anti-Skill would take a good twenty minutes tops to arrive, more than enough time to breakthrough. So, why had they stopped?

Confusion spread among the Hoshi security staff with unease planting itself in the silence. They weren't sure how to proceed with the situation now. Attacking the gang of Skill-Outs was an idea, but they were heavily armed with stolen Anti-Skill equipment that put their standard pistols to shame. Not to mention they were simply security, none of them were trained to deal with an actual combat situation like this, they weren't Anti-Skill officers! Their training consisted of two week drills to handle trespassers or the very rare chance that someone broke in with a gun. That was it!

Gulping anxiously, the security guard known as Fukigen slowly craned his head over the large bullet dented shield to peek at the Skill-Out's activity. He frowned, as did the rest of his comrades as a single person stepped out from the line of armored trucks out into the open.

A platinum blonde girl in a white frilly blouse with gold buttons, and blue and black checkered skirt stood out in the open street that acted as a divider between the reactor facility and the streets of District 10. She appeared to be a foreigner with her creamy white skin and blond hair with two drill tips falling beside her face; a girl that had no reason to be among thugs and delinquents. Like a porcelain doll sitting in the middle of ragged plush dolls. In a scene like this, they would have rushed out to take the girl away from the dangerous degenerates laying siege to their facility.

It was surreal, the sight of such a dainty girl standing in the middle of a warzone. It was such an odd sight that they didn't even take notice of the threatening grin on her as she spoke into her phone.

"Bring in the Ram."

A blaring horn snapped the security force out of their stupors in time to take notice of the new danger stream rolling their way towards them. The faces of those brave men and woman holding the line blanched at the sight of a heavy armored black platted vehicle popping out of literal nowhere from behind the platinum haired girl and thugs almost as if it had rolled through a mirage. The vehicle appeared to me fusion of a garbage truck and tank as long as a firetruck, with six large wheels the size of an elementary school child, tinted windows, and heavily platted hood designed to plow right through whatever stood in its way. The so called 'Ram' knocked the Anti-Skill vans out of its way as both the platinum haired girl, and Skill-Out, quickly moved out of its way. The security force tried to follow the lead of the thugs, vainly attempting to jump out of the way or seek cover, to no avail.

With a deafening blare, the Ram struck the measly wall created to block Skill-Out with the force of a gigantic firing piston hammer. An explosive burst of metal and wall blew up upon collision, completely tearing apart the defense that had held the Level 0s at bay. The force The Ram had struck with was enough to create a shock wave that sent the security guards flying every which way like ragdolls. The sound of gravel beneath the wheels of the monstrous truck was all that could be heard as it came to a stop in front of the defensive perimeter as everything grew quiet. In a single moment, the entire remaining security force had been completely and utterly wiped out.

With a single command, a measly Level 0 had brought down the reactor facility's security force.

Now that the guards were out of commission, the Skill-Out members walked out from their cover to proceed with their operation, careful to walk by the truck responsible for the carnage that was still parked in front of the entrance. All of which was being lead by none other than the out of placed foreign girl. Mila stood back as the Skill-Out factions went along to secure the facility. She gad other business to attend to before she could continue. Ignoring the groaning bodies and corpses in the wake of the ramming truck, the platinum haired girl began to speak into her phone with a mild frown.

"The Hoshi Reactor has been more or less secured. Teams, report your status."

Static answered back momentarily before several other lines began to respond.

 _"This is the leader of Devil's Mouth, coming in. We're more than happy to report that Anti-Skill and Judgment are still occupied with those bots under your control. I don't even think they know what's going on yet! Fucking idiots! I'll let ya know when they've gotten control over this mess, until then, we'll continue to monitor those pigs."_

 _"Vile Dogs here, dropping in to confirm that we've still got the tram station leading into District 10 on lock down! No one's even bothered to try and stop us; I think everyone is still distracted by all this hell we've caused."_

 _". . .Drop Out. . .reporting. As much as I hate to say, we've failed to capture the damn scientist, or take out Komaba's boys. The damn bastard's just don't seem to stay down! At least we were successful in spreading all the bad blood, right? I swear, if I ever see the spiky haired bastard, I'm going to take my time choking the life out of him!"_

 _"It's taking us some time, but we in Red Horns are almost finished with setting up those control towers as you requested alongside those in HiJack. It seems whatever you're doing to the other districts is more than enough for us to freely move around and set up those devices of yours. We'll let you know when everything is up and running, Mila-san."_

A pleased grin made its way to Mila's face at the reports coming in. Though she was a tad bit upset that she hadn't been able to take out the big figure head of Skill-Out, Komaba Ritoku, and his loyal group, it hardly mattered now. Everything was going according to plan.

Nothing that had happened in the last few hours were a coincidence. The rise of tension and hostility that had spilled over like a glass overflowing with water; all Mila's doing. She had bribed several small time gangs in Skill-Out to simply go wild, to cause as much trouble and chaos as they wanted, creating small events of aggression to get under the skin of the bigger factions who were loyal to Komaba. And with the help of Drop Out, she had begun framing several of those small time gangs along with the bigger factions for the random attacks and murders that could be seen as a hostile takeover. She had created a district similar to a keg full of volatile propane, just brimming with thugs that just needed a reason to go at the others throats. She just needed to provide a spark to fully consume the district with violence.

That's where Deadlock came in. The red suited boy in the Queen Diver acted a bodyguard of sorts for her, along with acting as the muscle when she needed to persuade the bigger factions that weren't aligned with Komaba's Skill-Out. A nameless party that had gone to The Food Stand Spire to spark the match that would create an inferno of outrage with other random Skill-Outs. All it would take was one fight where several other factions gathered on neutral ground to spread the violence.

Of course, at the notice of District 10 being consumed by a gang war, Academy City would act right away to quell the fighting. That was where her new friend, Arden had come in along with Devil's Mouth.

Mila wasn't sure how the fair blond boy had done it, but Arden had created a city wide event that caught the attention of all of Anti-Skill and Judgment. The two main forces that kept the city safe in Light of Academy City had become far too occupied with whatever her partner had done to even notice what Mila was up to by manipulating all the factions to fight. And in that commotion, the other party that consisted of Red Horn's and HiJack, a gang talented in hacking Academy City's computers and networks, could go about another important matter to her master plan without worrying about getting caught.

To make sure that no Anti-Skill or Judgment official got in the way of her plans, Mila had Devil's Mouth keep an eye on them, ordering them to take out anyone who got wind of what was happening in District 10.

And that left Vile Dogs, who guarded the trams that let in and out of District 10. No one would be able to enter the district on their watch. The only way to enter would be on foot, which they had guarded by other nameless delinquents.

It was all coming together perfectly. What was left for her to enter the final stage of her plan was simply the 'key'.

"Continue to keep up the good work, boys! I promise you, it won't be long until we've brought down the corrupt system that has labeled us as worthless. Just be patient. You'll all be rewarded for your hard work soon enough." Mila giggled brightly, stirring the young hearts of those no good delinquents.

Deadlock may have helped to coerce the factions into joining her, but it was the beautiful, soft, cute face of hers that had sealed the deal. Flashing a little leg skin had also helped, along with a flirt or two.

 _"Ya got it, Sweet Heart!"_

 _"Understood, Mila-chan! We won't let you down!"_

 _"We are at your command, Mila-san!"_

 _"MMMMIIIILLLLAAAA-CHAN!"_

 _'Stupid perverts.'_ So much for hardened thugs.

While all the other lines cut off, one line was still open.

Viper gulped dryly as he was the only leader still speaking with the cute foreign girl. Unlike the others though, he saw beneath all the fake flirty crap and noticed just how visage she could be.

 _"S-So, uh, Mila-san? About Dr. Tatsumi and Komaba's boys."_

"You're lucky I sent out Deadlock to assure the good doctor's capture, Viper-kun, or else he would be hunting you down." Mila responded with an unseen chilling smile.

She could almost picture the American boy sweating in fear.

"For now, I advise you and your boys to join up with Vile Dogs. I don't want anymore mistakes to occur, understood?"

Mila didn't wait for a reply, cutting off the line with a pout.

There had only been one slip up so far. If she believed what Viper had told her, then they had been all set to capture the doctor before some unknown boy had butted in. Her plans had hit a snag because of some random passer by.

 _'Hmm, plain features, spiky black hair, talked like some self righteous hero. I wonder?'_

Heading into the final stage of her wish, Mila couldn't help but wonder if that normal high school boy had escaped the reaches of her wrath against the city.

* * *

Standing out front of a run down convenience store in District 10, stood a chestnut haired boy wearing a rich middle school uniform. The boy's once brown eyes were now bleeding red with odd magical circles spinning like clock work in his iris, body clad in sick green sparks, a large clawed hand forming behind his back from tendrils interlocking, and an emotionless expression that spoke of nothing but a clear focus on his target. It was as if the boy was no longer there, and been taken control of remotely by another force. His movements were not his own, almost robotic in nature.

The boy's name was Mikoto Hana. Level 4 Electromaster. Son of both Kamijou Touma and Mikoto Misaka. And one of Kamijou Toka's little brothers.

Toka clenched her teeth as she warily eyed the still sparking Esper. The large hand made of his abilities electricity twitched slightly, giving her all the warning she needed. Taking a deep, calming breath, she moved, breaking out into a run straight for the Level 4 Electromaster. With a crackle, the green sparking hand lunged forward, spreading its fingers out to crush the normal looking high school girl stupidly heading its way. In one motion, the deadly hand moved to grab the girl and squeeze the life out of her.

Hamazura, who was unable to move in his current condition, found his mouth gaping in shock as he watched the unruly dark haired girl flip over the monstrous sparking hand. He was not expecting that. Nor was he expecting what he saw next.

This was not the time. Seriously, they were all about to die at the hands of an Esper who had lost his marbles while a gang war raged on in the very background of this district. And yet, he still couldn't help his eyes from locking onto the girl's skirt as it fluttered in the wind to reveal a peek of her panties.

 _'. . .Hearts? That's certainly a new one. Kinda expected something more sexy.'_

None the less, blood gushed down his face. At this point, no one could tell if it was from his wounds or his nose.

Carefully landing back on the street, Toka craned her head back to find the sparking hand make a U-turn int its lunge for her back. She didn't move, watching instead as it raced towards her with a jabbing motion of its claws. Then, as it was only a few spaces away, she side stepped the jab, feeling the very wind brush her messy hair back. She didn't stop her dodging there, moving to hop back as the hand flew back and struck its palm down to smash her into paste. The street cracked loudly, bits of the asphalt flew up around Toka, a few of which she quickly snatched up with her left hand just before ducking under a wide swipe of the Hana's controlled lightning arm.

Dodging another wide swipe, Toka returned to running after her younger brother who remained rooted on the spot. As she continued evading all the deadly blows heading her way, she began to study the odd behavior her brother was displaying. It was obvious something was wrong with him from the way he attacked them and spoke like some robot assassin. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she took a good look of the magic circles spinning around his red eyes.

So, it was must have been the work of that monster of a Magic God then. Magic of some kind was controlling Hana, taking over his mind and forcing him to eliminate whoever the Magic God deemed a threat. It must have been why it had attacked Angela who was protecting Index and then Hamazura.

The Library of Forbidden Books and The End of The Century Emperor. With them out of the picture, many of the events that shaped her future would be twisted and shattered beyond repair. It was almost as if the Magic God had sent over a hit list of targets it wanted rid of. But how? How did the God of Ruin know to prepare something like this so quickly while it was being ambushed in its attempt to enter the past timeline? There was no way it could have known they would attack when they did.

Flipping over another racing arm, Toka was suddenly forced to evade the mid air assault of the hand unfurling itself to stab its six tendrils in a new style of attacking. She sweated, twisting her body around a jabbing tendril before falling into a roll as she hit the streets, just barely missing the other five tendrils following after her and stabbing where she had rolled off. She got on her feet quickly, ready to continue dodging the next set of strikes before she found herself holding back a scream. One of the tendrils bent as it stabbed the streets seconds ago, changing its direction to graze her waist. It was luck that it hadn't hit its mark to impale.

No blood ran down the wide slash like wound by Toka's waist, having been cauterized by the sizzling watts of electricity the tendril was made of. Toka didn't have time to worry about the burning wound since the tendril was still acting with malicious intent. It slithered back, moving to fix the miscalculation and run her through along with the five others of its kind. Toka was quick on her feet, moving to dodge the six deadly vile green crackling tendrils as sweat flew off her face. It was almost like she was stuck in a dance with six other partners, all aiming to mangle her if she made one misstep.

 _'. . .How the hell is she dodging all that?!'_

Hamazura wasn't sure what to make of what he was seeing from the athletic high school girl. All he could do at this point was watch the girl who randomly stepped in to save his life expertly evade all the attacks from the live wire Esper. The stranger continued to dodge the six tendrils almost as if she knew where the attacks would come from. Even with her back turned, she seemed to sense that three of the tendrils had twisted around another to stab her through like a giant spiraling lance and twisted out of the way. The action reminded him of something, something he remembered from one of his classes in school before dropping out.

Precognition. The ability to predict future events using extrasensory perception. It allowed the user to act accordingly to what they believed would happen and change the outcome on what action they chose. It was a rare ability despite it being one of the five attributes tested in the SYSTEM scan for an Esper, with only a few users really developing it into an actual ability of study. In all his time dealing with Espers when he was a student and as a member of Skill-Out, he had never met an Esper with the precognition attribute. Most of the students who had an ability would wind up with an attribute of Telekinesis or Telepathy, while others would be able to control and produce elements with their minds.

When compared to the other abilities an Esper could produce with their Personal Reality, precognition wasn't all that impressive when compared to the strongest Esper in Academy City's ability to freely control all vectors. Anyone would trade it away for a more flashy and destructive power like Pyrokinesis. As cool as it sounded to even a powerless Level 0 like Hamazura who had no ability to speak off, he would still rather wish for a power that helped him beat down all those arrogant higher levels.

Right now though, as he was left to watch some normal looking high school girl dodge the wild and swift tendrils made of green sparks of high voltage electricity like a professional gymnasts in some intricate dance, he would gladly take precognition over a destructive ability.

Little did Hamazura know was the fact that Toka wasn't using an ability to help her avoid all the attacks aimed to eliminate her. See, that was the thing about an Esper's ability. It involved calculations, requiring an understanding of physics, elementary particles, scientific theory, etc. It was safe to say that idiots were unable to gain the ability to bring out their Personal Reality, which might explain the cases of two certain future famous Level 0's. Without a sound mind, one wouldn't be able to perform the calculations that allowed an Esper to use their abilities to their fullest potential.

 _'Shit, shit, shit, SHITTTTTTTTT! WHERE THE HELL'S TOU-SAN WHEN YOU NEED HIM!?_ '

And like father like daughter, Toka didn't exactly have the brains or the understanding to discover her Personal Reality. She too was your average Level 0.

Bending her spine all the way back to the point she was sure her shoulder's touched the street to avoid the three stabbing tendrils of sparks, Toka's face grew slick with sweat on her frantic face. The poor girl's heart was pounding against her chest like an over enthusiastic amateur drummer who thought they knew how to rock. Her legs were trembling, ready to collapse at any moment. The fact she was still alive was a miracle she was still having trouble believing.

Toka would have loved nothing more than to stop, to run away from an out of control Esper, but that wasn't really an option for her. It never was. Even though she was no longer in the Academy City she had grown up in, it was still Academy City none the less. Meaning she was still finding herself dealing with Espers for one reason or another. Only in this case it wasn't some arrogant Esper, but her little brother who she had only met a week ago.

Gulping audibly, Toka allowed herself to fall on her back and rolled away from the three tendrils curving down to again attempt to puncture her full of holes like swiss cheese. Quickly getting back on her feet, she moved a few steps back, eyeing all six of Hana's sparking tendrils continue to pursue her. She panted tiredly, refusing to evade the attacks as the tips seemed to glint with fatal intent.

One inch. A single inch stopped the lightning tendrils from running through her as they seemed to freeze, struggling to reach over with audible strain that sounded like stretching leather. Toka couldn't help but grin in victory.

For the past few minutes, she had been testing the reach of Hana's creepy tendrils, seeing just how far they could extend. And for whatever reason, he couldn't physically move when manipulating his lightning tendrils, seeming to focus entirely on performing the calculations to control them. All of that and more she had observed in her dodging. With that knowledge, she could move onto a different tactic.

Attack.

Gripping the chunk of asphalt in her right hand, Toka moved her arm back for a pitch and threw the piece of shattered road at the emotionless Esper. The tendrils seemed to have sensed the action, snapping back to Hana deflect the measly rock with one tendril. It was all they would need for such a straight forward pitch.

Only just as Toka wasn't your average normal girl, it wasn't your average pitch. It was a curve ball.

Having miscalculated the grip of the ball's throw, it was too late for Hana to deflect the chunk of asphalt smashing into his face. The impact was strong enough to cause his head to fall back and blood to trail down his most likely bent nose. Even still, he didn't utter a sound of pain or acknowledge the blow. Hana simply moved his head back, his emotionless eyes staring back Toka's disgruntled expression.

 _'So, it was wishful thinking that a good old curve ball would knock him out. Just my luck.'_ Toka thought tiredly. She should have known better, her father's children weren't exactly made of glass despite a few of them being terrifying cannons of destruction. Another bead of sweat ran down her face, hitting the street with a slight plop that was drown out by the lightning crackle of the six deadly tendrils rushing after her. The remote controlled Hana wasn't allowing her a moment of rest.

Falling into her instincts, Toka moved her body to evade the spear like thrusts from the tendrils. Each one snapped, whipped, and rushed at her with the intent to end her life in one hit. And each time they came at her, she just barely managed to dodge Hana's attacks by a hair. Seeming to grow frustrated, the six tendrils spiraled around another to form a large lance like tendril that shot forward like a bullet that cut through the air as Toka seemed to fumble over a chunk of asphalt created by all the wild attacks. Toka's eyes went wide in panic as the lightning spear sped straight at her faster than she could dodge. She shut her eyes, her body failing to move itself out of the way.

" **TLSWSISAMAIT** _[The Lightning Spear Will Separate Into Six And Miss It's Target_ ]!"

Just before the lightning spear could stab through Toka's abdomen, it came apart and returned to six tendrils that rushed past the surprised girl without doing any harm. Toka blinked, unsure of what just happened. She was pretty sure she was good as dead right there. What happened? She scratched the back of her head, eyeing the lightning tendrils that wriggled in a frenzy before she heard someone's voice.

" **TLTWCTAF** [ _The Lightning Tendrils Will Constrict Themselves And Freeze_ ]!"

The odd string of English letters seemed to take control of Hana's lightning tendrils, forcing them to loop around themselves like snakes to tie themselves up in a twitching bundle. A second later the force froze the mass of tendrils still, the crackle of lightning being the only sound it gave off as it grew motionless. For how long, Toka had no idea. All she knew was that she was thankful for whoever saved her. Actually, that voice sounded a lot like. . .

"Toka-chan!"

Toka looked back to the voice that could only belong to her sister, Angela, running over to her position. So, that's who saved her. She couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief, noting that despite the injury her sister suffered, she was still well enough to move again. What she had just seen and heard must have been magic then. Even after all that she had seen in their timeline following the death of her father, Toka was still awed by what magic could do. It really was unlike what an Esper was capable of.

 _'So, I was right. That magic, the spell controlling Hana-kun and what had been affecting Toka-chan, it was all because of that monster!'_ Angela thought angrily.

Spell Intercept could only work effectively when one understood the nature of the spell or magic being used. It was the perfect counter to those who understood magic down to its very core. And as the daughter of the most famous practitioner, Angela had gained an understanding of it to use it herself when dealing with certain spells as well. For it to have worked this well could only mean one thing. The spell she had studied alongside her mother that allowed all the children to cross into the past was similar to what she was dealing with here.

All of this was that cursed Magic God's magic.

" **Target identified. Proceeding to eliminate second Vestige of Imagine Breaker. Altering course of combat style.** "

Sadly the reunion between sisters was cut abruptly short by the emotionless voice of their little brother. Both Toka and Angel turned their heads to see Hana finally move, crouching slightly on his legs in a running start. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, crossing the distance between himself and the stunned high school girl in a matter of seconds. The lightning tendrils running through his back dissipated to fading sparks, the magic that manipulated them losing their hold. There was nothing Toka could do as Hana appeared in front of her, his right fist chambered with emerald sparks crackling wildly before said fist was driven deep into her stomach.

Toka's screams of pain filled the air as thousands of volts of electricity spread through her, lighting up her body like a holiday decoration turned on to its highest setting. The entire street corner was illuminated by the green hue of electricity crossed with both magic and science. If this kept on any longer, her body would be turned into a charred crisp! Already she could feel her skin begin to cook like a sizzling chunk of meat on a skillet.

 **BANG!**

A gunshot rang out through Toka's screams, a lone bullet streaking through the air to drill itself between a certain electromaster's eyes. The bullet struck it's mark, flinging Hana's head back as a small spurt of blood flew out as he stumbled back, his fist leaving Toka's stomach. The high school girl nearly fell back to the ground after receiving so much volts to her body. But she held strong, gritting her teeth viciously and fought to keep her eyes open as she stood her ground with trembling legs. A light sheen of smoke drifted off her body, revealing the first degree burns crawling over her skin.

"H-Hana!" Despite the pain, her worry fell straight onto her younger brother. Despair filled her being, knowing that it would be impossible for anyone to survive a gunshot to the head. Glancing back, she found who had fired; the shaggy dirty blond boy who had been attacked earlier. Hamazura grimaced at the furious expression on the girl's face as his right arm fell limply to his side, the small handgun clattering as he did.

"E-Either him, o-or y-you." Hamazura grunted weakly.

If Toka wasn't in so much pain or fighting to stay conscious right now, she would have ran over with a clenched fist and knocked a few teeth out.

Luckily, or unluckily, her dear little brother hadn't been killed by the head shot.

Gaining his balance back, the possessed Esper stared back at the two, shocking them both as they found the bullet that should have exited the back of his head hovering between his eyes. It seemed he had managed to magnetize whatever metals were within the bullet just as it broke the skin. A bead of blood ran down his forehead, the chestnut haired boy still not displaying a hint of emotions even after a bullet had nearly pierced a hole in his face. Footsteps could be heard drawing closer, alerting the Esper of the raven haired nun who was now joining the rest of the party. Seeing that, he leaped far back from the two girls and the down, but still dangerous, Level 0 to gain some distance between them. Emerald sparks flew out his back, crafting the six deadly tendrils once again before they took a different action than before.

" **Calculations complete. Beginning creation of the temple.** "

The tendrils flayed wildly from Hana's back, growing hauntingly still before the tips of each tendril fired several pulses of electricity. A magnetic field had been formed, seeming to draw in streams of iron sand from beneath the street that were molded into odd shapes and figures. They floated above Hana's head as if they were on a flat board while his six tendrils arced up and fired a chain of lightning. The chain of lightning extended from each tip, connecting with another to form above the boy's head a large and intricate circle of occult symbols over the board of iron sand molded figures.

Reaching her sister, Angela stared up at the ominous circle, gulping anxiously at the meaning.

"He created a temple and formed a magic circle. That shouldn't be possible! He's an Esper! He can't possibly have knowledge to perform something so intricate!" Angela shouted in panic as the circle began to give off a vile glow.

Toka was breathing heavily, doing her best to straighten herself out as she stared up at the magical array now growing to extend over all their heads. Like her sister, she started to feel uneasy by the array. She had seen a similar thing before. And the circle had spelled utter hell on earth. Death was the only thing to await them if it was completed. The world around them would burn with hellfire.

A powerful burst of wind blew out from the center of Hana's position as the magic circle only continued to expand. At this rate, it would only continue to grow to extend to Academy City's borders. Maybe even the entire nation of Japan. Or worse, the world itself. Just as it did in their timeline. And that was something neither girl could ever allow to happen again.

Wordlessly, both Toka and Angela glanced back to another and nodded firmly, standing their ground against the bellowing winds flaying their hair. Together, they squared their shoulders, took on a running start, and in sync sprinted forward in the direction of their younger brother. Hamazura flinched back from the stinging winds as he watched the girls run forward towards their death with a shout.

"What are you idiots, suicidal?! Just run away already! What good would it do you idiots to stick around protecting some nobody!?"

That's where he was wrong. Toka and Angela weren't just fighting for the safety of a random Level 0, one that would funnily enough be the key figure to turn the tides of battle in a historic fight against a certain demon, but for the safety of their little brother. As if they could just turn around and run away. That would go against the very will of the man they had once again been reunited with.

Sensing the approaching threats, Hana constructed four more tendrils of electricity from both his arms. The tendrils wriggled madly, growing stiff as commands were sent to their beings that commanded them to intervene the girls running for their master. Unable to move from his position, Hana shot both his arms forward, sending the tendrils racing with the intent to stab through the girls bodies.

The raven haired nun and the unruly haired high schooler weren't deterred in the slightest. Each sprinted through the mad lashing whips of lightning in their own style. Using her natural born precognition, Toka evaded the stabs, slashes, and strikes of the tendrils without ever stopping. And with her Spell Intercept, Angela countered just about every tendril's actions while dodging whatever one's she missed. Somehow, through the wild assault of frying, paralyzing whips of pure electricity centered solely on them, the girls found themselves only steps away from their possessed brother.

In a last ditch effort to fend off the girls, Hana recalled his tendrils to his body. His left arm lost all its strength, falling limply as six tendrils rushed out of his right arm to wrap tightly around the limb and form a massive clawed arm of sparking, muscled lightning. The Esper of out of control lightning swung the massive claw back and threw a mighty straight claw thrust that parted the air with a horrible screech. The thrust came at the girls quick, just moments away from slamming into them like a sparking dump truck running down a hill. But at the last moment before impact, the girls reacted just in time to move out of the way, their inherited instincts passed down by their father saving them just in time.

Hana moved to call his massive arm back, but found his actions stopped as Angela and Toka stepped into his personal space. What happened next could not be stopped.

As one, Angela and Toka dug their feet in, reared their fists back, and with all their strength and weight thrown in, slammed their fists square in Hana's face. A sickly crack of cartilage from the electromaster boy's nose caused the girls to grimace. But they didn't stop, continuing to push through and slam their brother's body back into the road with a thwack.

Blood smeared Angela's and Toka's knuckles to their shame, dripping small droplets of red as the growing spell circle paused and faded away. It was like a switch had been flipped. Without the complete control and focus of its creator, the spell withered away as the sparking Esper was laid back, his body twitching and joints jerking like a machine who's gears were caught by debris. The red symbols in his eyes flickered madly, fighting to continue their control over the boy. With blood running down his nose, Hana slowly stood back up against his will. The force taking over his body fought to manipulate him again, summoning the sparks corrupted by magic once again. It was then that the two girls once again witnessed the backlash of the forbidden union of Magic and Science.

Numerous cuts and lacerations _popped_ up on the chestnut haired boy's skin, spraying blood like a high pressured leak from a water pipeline. The green emerald hue of Hana's electricity began to switch back and forth to its original color, an azure blue just like his mother's. A puddle of red quickly formed around Hana as the force controlling him commanded his twitching body to step closer to the girls with six glitching tendrils aimed to spear them through.

" **P-Phase I-Iota corr-corrupted. Host b-b-body damaggggged. W-W-Warning: Commencing M-Mathew Verse 5:18, Now Activating.**"

Toka panted tiredly as she warily backed away from Hana. Something about the air just now felt disturbing. For a moment, it felt like the air had gone stale. And what did Hana mean by Mathew Verse 5:18? Was that from the bible?

"New Testament, Chapter Five of The Gospel of Mathew, Verse 18; _For Verily, I say onto you, till Heaven and Earth pass away, one jot or one dot title shall in no wise pass from the law till all is fulfilled_." Like a vocal search engine, Angela answered Toka's unspoken question with a fluid grace come from years and years of study of the holy books her mother had taught her. The raven haired nun frowned in displeasure as she and her sister continued to back away at a quicker pace from their little brother. For good reason.

The road underneath the Esper began to crumble away to nothing, leaving not even the faintest bit of dust behind as the area of the disintegration continued to grow. The air in the space seemed to wither away, banished and leaving nothing behind as a cold frost crept at the edges of the space growing wider with every second. It was as if the very world around Hana was being reduced to nothing.

"I don't think I've ever seen such a spell before! Its reducing the very area of its expanding effect to nothing, crumbling the very earth and voiding the air into an empty vacuum of space. If it has anything to do with Matthew 5:18, than it's activating the failed credentials of the Law of Moses given down by The Son of God. Since whatever is controlling Hana's body can't seem to continue on, its causing the Earth and Heaven's around him to pass away to nothing! At this rate, even he will be devoured by the effect!"

Toka growled angrily at what she was hearing. Just what the hell was going on!? None of this made sense. Her little brother Hana was an Esper, a Level 4 Electromaster who could manipulate electricity to his command like woven fabric, something his own mother who as a Level 5 had yet to do at his age. He was on the opposite side of the world, residing in the world of Science that contradicted Magic. There was no possible way he could ever perform magic so fluidly. Unlike her uncle Tsuchimikado, who was one of the very few Hybrids between Magician and Esper, her little brother had never shown signs of being the same. So, how was he doing this now!?

Just what the hell was going on with her life!? Just days ago, she had been happily living her life, attending A Certain High School, living a normal life as a normal girl who occasionally found herself butting into others business, with a normal mom who was just an average Level 0 Esper herself. Toka's life was normal, and that was how she had liked it. But then That Day had come, and the world had been plunged into the fiery abyss of hell by a god of pure destruction. In the span of twenty-four hours, her normal, average, school life had been turned upside down by her unknown Level 4 electromaster little brother and a busty silver haired archbishop with a sharp, silver tongue, dragging her along for the ride of her life. From there, it had been one incident and fight to the death after the other. All because the role of Hero in their world had been killed.

Hellfire, Magic Gods, Demons, Magicians, Machines of War, Cultists, Espers, and so much more had attacked her in barely a week. And somehow, despite how the how the odds were always against her, Toka had made it through to finally reach the peek of the highest point of Earth, Everest. At the summit of the Magic God's ritual to corrupt the past, the old and new Kamijou Faction had gathered together to capture him and stop him from further destroying their lives. That should have been it. The story should have ended there!

But, here she was, along with the brothers and sisters she had never known existed, dropped off in said past where the younger and more naive versions of their mother's lived. Along with their father.

Kamijou Touma. A man who had many names to the world that went beyond his self imposed title as an average man. He was the hero to the world that was unaware of him in the realm of normalcy. But to the world of the supernatural, he was a Hero. THE HERO. But despite all the titles he had gained, Kamijou Toka had only known him as her father. The same father who was never around when she needed him most, who couldn't stay in her life beside her mother who still held a candle of love for him until the end of days, who was honestly more bum than father, and could be better described as dense even with his age.

But all in all, Kamijou Touma was the father she loved more than anything else. At the end of the day, she would have no other father than her beloved bum of a distant father who would always greet her with the brightest and warmest smiles and hugs she had ever experienced. The same father who had been taken from her without her notice. The same one who had taught her the Thelema that she lived by to this day.

She could still see her father, picture perfect in her memories, standing in front of her with a caring hand stretched out to her, with a soothing smile on his face.

 _'Toka-chan, no matter what stands in your way, no matter what the story, the event, the circumstances, or what anyone tells you, you just got to ask yourself one thing and follow through with it;'_

Toka bit the inside of her lower lip, her right fist trembling fiercely as she stopped in place, watching her little brother's body continue to spray blood from the wounds slicing his skin as the world around him passed away.

 _'Does it bother you?'_

Of course. OF COURSE IT BOTHERS HER!

"HANA!"

In face of the crumbling space of world edging closer to her, Toka stepped forward. She stepped closer to her little brother who didn't even seem to have the strength to even cry out for help. Even as the air stung her skin and her lungs began to struggle to expand with each step, Toka turned to her little brother with a furious shout from her trembling lips.

"ARE YOU REALLY FINE WITH THIS!? ARE YOU REALLY OKAY WITH LETTING THAT DUMBASS, CRUEL, FUCKED UP MAGIC GOD CONTROL YOU!? THE SAME ONE WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR MOTHER PASSING AWAY!? ARE YOU REALLY FINE WITH LETTING IT STRING YOU ALONG LIKE A WOODEN PUPPET TO KILL YOUR ONEE-SANS?! CAN YOU REALLY STAND THERE AND STARE AS THE WORLD COMES APART!? DOESN'T IT-"

Twitch. A single involuntary movement in Hana's emotionless face was all Toka needed as she took in a deep, shuddering breath as the very edge of the crumbling world was ready to devour her.

"DOESN'T IT BOTHER YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Shudder. Hana's lips shuddered against the control of the Magic God's poisonous magic.

Plip. A single tear dropped from Hana's watering eyes, the red symbols flickering pitiably before the Esper boy's natural brown eyes came to life.

And with a crying yell that reached the crumbling heavens and earth around him, the rich boy took control of his world once again.

"OF COURSE IT BOTHERS MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Even without the famous Imagine Breaker, the illusion over the boy was shattered like glass. Emerald sparks fought to gain its control and seep back in, but the Esper boy fought back just as fiercely. A massive output of azure sparks banished the magic, zapping the emerald sparks that dyed into a dark, venomous foam of vile energy; like fire burning away a regenerative virus. Hana's fingers flew to his head, clutching onto his recovering mind for dear life as tears fell down his shamed face. He cried angrily, summoning a massive bolt of lightning to drop out of the cloudless sky to strike his body to finally rid the cursed energy of the ruinous god of destruction.

And so, in the district of zeroes, abandoned by the city of science to their own doing, an Esper fell to his knees. The crumbling space returned to normal, reverting back as the influence of the Magic God was rejected. Wisps of toxic magic that cursed Hana drifted off his tired body like smoke, soaking back into the air as he lost the strength to stand. A worn out, exhausted smile grew on his face, his vision growing blurry as he fell.

Hana wasn't sure what had happened. He had memories, memories of waking up on some roof in Academy City. Of walking the streets he thought he knew. And then he heard it; a cry for help. And then. . .a dark emotion. A destructive, angered, frustrated, emotion that possessed him in the moment before his mind grew dim and dark as the emotion only grew. And then nothing.

Whatever had taken over him was gone though. Thanks to the familiar, annoying, yell of a sister Hana didn't know much of. Before his wounded body could hit the ground, a familiar set of arms caught him and let his head rest on the owner's chest. He could see a white robe, dirtied, stained with bits of blood and dirt, and strings of raven hair tickling his nose. As his eyes closed and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep he had been deprived of for far too long, he heard a warm, comforting voice speak to him.

"It's alright, Hana-kun. Your Angela-onee-san's here now. You can rest now. I swear, you won't be alone anymore. Okay?"

With his strength gone, Hana could only weakly nod as one of his older sisters wrapped him up in a cozy, warm, loving hug. Just like his mother's.

Angela sighed tiredly as she fixed her little brother's body to hang over her back. If it weren't for their current situation, she would have joined Hana. Her body was tired from all the running, not to mention the first lunging strike of the Esper boy's tendrils had done a number on her. If it weren't for her protective robes that were designed after a church, she would have died on the spot. At the thought, she turned her eyes back to where she had left Index and Dr. Tatsumi. She grew relieved, seeing them come to rise up from being knocked out from the impact at the spot she left them at.

"Angela? What's going on?" Index asked sleepily, causing a small giggle from Angela's lips. Her mother was just too adorable as a child! She would have loved nothing more than to scoop her up and hug her like a prized stuff animal at a fair, but she had important matters to attend to.

"I'll explain it all to you later, Index. Right now, I think it would be better to find a safe place away from all the fighting. I have to patch up Hana-kun's wounds quickly before he loses even more blood." Even now, after all that they had gone through, Angela could still hear the sounds of fighting between thugs and delinquents rage on in the streets. She would have to set up a People Clearing Field when they found a good spot to rest.

While they were on the subject of wounded people.

"OUCH! Can't you be a bit gentler?!"

"Quit your whining! I thought guys were suppose to suck up the pain and tough it out when they're around girls. Instead you're crying like a little kid who scrapped his knee."

"I got more than a scraped knee for trying to save your life! Is this really the thanks I get!? I swear, I should have just let you get thrown around by that idiot Esper instead of trying to be some stupid hero! I'm just a Level 0 for crying out loud! Don't I at least get some kind of reward?"

"What? Do you want me to gush over your chivalry and give you a kiss like some damsel? Maybe flash you a little skin from my thigh?"

". . . ."

". . . .That better be blood from some wound and not your nose."

Turning her head back as Index and the disgruntled Dr. Tatsumi walked over, Angela found Toka lugging Hamazura over her left shoulder as the two argued. It didn't look like Hamazura had the strength to even walk on his two feet after his run in with Hana. Even after all the fighting had settled between them, the dirty, unkempt blond haired Level 0 couldn't help but glare and stare warily at Hana who rested on her back.

"Why the hell are you carrying that bastard!? Didn't you see what that dumbass was doing? That idiot Esper was going out of control, smashing up everything in sight! And the first thought that comes to mind to you after knocking him out is to carry him around like a baby? Are fucking crazy!?"

"Language."

"Fuck!"

Moving her hand back from punishing the foul mouthed future hero of her time, Angela turned back to the empty streets with contemplation.

"I'm happy that we're all reunited and that the drama's over, but that still leaves us stranded in District 10. Not to mention we have no idea where Kamijou-san is. I hope he's still not fighting that odd boy in the red suit." Angela said worriedly.

Toka frowned. Knowing her father's luck, he was probably caught in all that mess that started this all. That left them with what to do now. If her father was caught up in all this, which was pretty much assured, than the only way to find him would be to follow the chaos to its center. Something she wasn't exactly keen on in her condition.

"So, he's absent? How unfortunate. . .for you."

The sound of small rocket's broke Toka out of her thoughts as something seemed to rocket towards them. Faster than any of them could react, a boy in a red motorcycle suit fitted with countless skating wheels, sped past them. The boy's helmet was cracked, various parts of his suit were burned along with some of his wheels broken. And in their surprise, the red suited boy in the Queen Diver latched his arm around the stunned Dr. Tatsumi's waist. Without another moment to spare, the boy in the Queen Diver rocketed past them with the nuclear scientist in his grasp.

"Dr. Tatsumi!" Toka yelled in alarm as she moved to chase after the rollerblading boy.

Deathlock spun, braking his wheels to stop and aim the pile bunker on his shoulder at the high school girl. The threat of the deadly piercing weapon was enough to stop Toka in her tracks along with the others as he casually addressed them.

"I must say, I saw a lot of interesting things going on. It kinda reminded me of some battle manga with a fantasy setting. If I weren't on such a tight schedule, I would ask what that was all about. But the good doctor and I have a very important meeting to attend to. After all, only he knows of how to open the hidden vault in the Hoshi Reactor. Ain't that right, Orochi Tatsumi?"

Orochi Tatsumi flinched at the full address of his name. The sudden reaction caused Deadlock to glance at him with an amused tone.

"That's right, we know just about all there is to you, Tatsumi-san. Even of where you live, your wife, your kids, their school and workplace, among other things such as allergies and medical history. Even you would understand what that implies, correct?"

Tatsumi's face grew deathly pale. The underlining threat wasn't lost to him. All the fight he had in him dwindled. He hung his head in defeat, nodding weakly.

"We are 0s. This world views as weaklings with no potential, no more a threat than a roach. Yet despite how powerless the SYSTEM deems us, look at all that we've accomplished in a matter of a morning. We've swallowed an entire district in war, cut off any means of escaping by taking over the tram terminals leading in and out, and have raided the secret research vaults that dwell beneath the nuclear reactors. All without an ability to speak of. Isn't that amusing? Care to imagine what those little zeroes could do to a small family?"

No, no he did not. Even the scientist couldn't bare to imagine what such people could do to his family. The thought alone was what shattered what will he had left.

". . .I. . .I understand."

"Good. After all, we can't proceed with Level Eater without it's creator there to see it stirring back up."

Deadlock chuckled, growing confidant enough to let go of the scientist. Reaching for his cell, he brought it to his ear and spoke.

"Target acquired. Bring in the Ram."

From the opposite direction of the group, a large boom echoed as a heavily armored vehicle burst through a small building. The vehicle was black, reminiscent of a dumpster crossed with a tank, platted with armor and six wheels. The Ram drove down the road, flinging the debris around it into the wind as it came to stop behind the red suited boy.

Pile bunker still locked onto the small group, Deadlock signaled the door to the vehicle to open, releasing a small platform to lower down to lift them up. Dr. Tatsumi didn't put up a fight, staring down at the ground despondently as Deadlock lead him onto the platform lift. Seeing the frustrated and angered expression on their faces, Deadlock grinned behind his cracked helmet.

"Unless you're that clown, Kamijou, don't bother following. You may not know it, but there are big things going on, much more than just a bunch of 0s fighting among themselves. The stage we're setting is far too big for small fry like yourselves. But, if you by chance do come across that clown, I would so love it if you steered him our way; To the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor."

As much as Toka wanted to, she couldn't follow after the red suited boy. Even if she could dodge the firing nail, she wasn't sure of the blast radius that could harm those behind her. All she could do was glare at the smug boy in the Queen Diver suit. One that seemed to be all too familiar with her father.

"And why would you want him interrupting your plans? Unless you actually want them to fall apart?" Toka mocked, earning a laugh from Deadlock.

"Because, while I do believe in my employer's plan, I still have unfinished business with that damned clown! And what better place to settle our ideals than at the climax of all this chaos! Just as we had faced another long ago, I wish to do it again! This time, without a doubt! I will prove that my own ideals, my aspirations, my goal, is greater than some illusion born of my hesitation! Even if it means putting my plans at risk of failure! That is how far I'm willing to go to once against clash with that powerless, fake hero!"

The passion Deadlock spoke with was practically deranged. The red suited boy had his own goals in mind that aligned with his employers, that was true, but even those meant nothing to his desire to prove his own desires were greater than Touma's. He would gamble it all just to defeat the unlucky high school boy. It was fanatic desire.

The platform reached its top height, loading both Deadlock and the defeated Dr. Tatsumi to enter the heavily armored dumpster truck/tank. Deadlock left them with one more word of parting before vanishing within the Ram.

"If I were you, I'd go seek cover somewhere safe from all the fighting. Relax, all this nonsensical fighting will come to end. And when all else has settled, this world ruled by those with power will come to an end. The idea of SYSTEM will fall, and we Level 0s will finally be able to proudly stand tall, free to rule our own fates. When it all comes down to it, we do all this for you."

And with that, the door to the Ram shut with a heavy clunk. The wheels of the heavy truck spun, driving away to its next destination. Leaving those powerless figures to watch it disappear in a cloud of dust.

Toka bit her lips to the point she drew blood. Staring down, she couldn't stop her shoulders from trembling in frustration as all she could do was watch the man she had been protecting this entire day snatched away without her lifting a finger to help. Even more, what Deadlock had said to her drove her to a boiling point.

 _'When it comes down to it, we do all this for you.'_

All this? The fighting? The bloodshed? The senseless destruction? Was this all for the betterment of them? What-

"Bullshit."

"Toka-chan?"

Angela stared worriedly at her sister's shaking shoulders. She knew that pose well enough now despite how short their time together as sisters was. It was the same pose she had once seen when staring at the back of her father's back during an unpleasant memory. One that he had quickly resolved with his fist alone.

Index was just as worried, unsure of what they could do. She may not have known Dr. Tatsumi, not at all really, but she still wasn't pleased with the man being forced to accompany such a person as Deadlock. If Touma was here, she knew he wouldn't stand for it.

"What are we going to do? Should we find Touma and tell him about what happened to Dr. Tatsumi?" Index asked softly.

"As if."

Toka's answer had taken both nuns back. The response reminded them of the state they had found the unruly haired high school girl. But to their assurance, Toka glanced back with eyes clear of corruption, instead filled with a strong determination. Seeing those dark eyes, Index couldn't help but compare them to Touma's own. It was uncanny how similar they were.

"Knowing him of all people, he'll find his way over, clues or no clues. That's just the kind of person he is; always stumbling into the center of all the trouble without any say in the matter. But that's the thing. He's not the only one who can butt into others troubles and plans. Even this normal high school girl can do the same, no problem!" Toka grinned widely.

Kamijou Touma was The Hero. Whether he cared for the title or not, whether he accepted it or not, and whether he let it control his actions or not, that's what he was. In time, he would come to gain that title from even the enemies he fought and changed for the better. And that title would never change. But having such a title put too much pressure and weight on his shoulders. Even if he never acknowledge it, he carried that heroic status until his bitter end at an enemy who had done the impossible and slain the hero. Maybe that's why he had lost in the end? In the end, the title of Hero was too much for even him.

That was the thing though. The title of hero was worthless. No one needed such a thing to save people, at least that's what her father had taught her. Even a regular girl like her could stand in the face of evil. All she had to do was act.

And that's what she would do. Toka would act to do as her father. It didn't matter if it was her business or not, she would go in to stop whatever bothered her in the slightest. And maybe, just maybe, she would help ease that burden on her father's shoulder just a bit.

With that in mind, Toka turned her gaze to the silent party in their midst. She grinned mischievously at the dead fished eyed Hamazura who stared back at her with a quirked brow. He resided in District 10, right? So, that meant he knew how to get around, even where a certain nuclear reactor laid.

"Oh, Haaaaammmmmaaaazzzzzuuuuurrrraaaaa~!"

Said lowly Hamazura couldn't help but gulp. Why was he suddenly involved? He was just a common delinquent for crying out loud! Why did this have to happen to him! How did this girl even know his name!?

 _'I need to let the boss or Hanzou know that I've been kidnapped by two nuns and a high school girl! Wait. . .would they even believe me!?'_

Poor Hamazura.

* * *

Fremea Seivulun was not having a fun time. Not in the slightest. And today had started off so well.

Today, her big sister, Frenda, had the day off for once. So, that meant the two sisters could spend the rest of the day hanging out. Such days were a rarity for the two. Fremea didn't know why, but her older sister's work always had her running off no matter the hour of the day. Whatever it was must have been important and secretive, kinda like her big sister was some kind of secret agent. Being a little girl who was ignorant of the Darkness of the world, she zipped her lips and didn't ask questions, least her sister's cover was blown. With her sister always busy, it wasn't often that they could enjoy an entire day to themselves without Frenda having to drop everything and run off to her secretive work.

Having the day to themselves, the Seivulun sisters had decided to start the morning off with breakfast at Joseph's. If they had been normal people, they probably would have been kicked out for bringing in their own food, especially something as cheap as canned fish, but her big sister only had to glare at them once to leave them alone. Her big sister Frenda was cool like that. And so, they had sat down to eat with bright, happy smiles that would last for the rest of the day.

Than that clumsy waitress had dropped water onto her big sister. The nerve. And from that little incident created by the clumsy waitress, and to a lesser extent; that plain, spiky haired boy who caused it all; Fremea's perfect, best day ever had been ruined.

Shortly after returning home to change out of her wet clothes, Frenda had received a message from her employer about an incident that little Fremea didn't know the details of. Whatever it was had to be important to force her older sister to run off and go back to work with an apology. Fremea had pouted like the child she was, but didn't cry. Her big sister was some kind of secret agent or something. She had important things to do after all. And it wasn't like Fremea would be alone.

With her big sister gone, Fremea had decided to visit her best friend/caretaker who lived in the infamous District 10, Komaba Ritoku. Whenever her big sister left her, her friend Komaba would be kind enough to watch over her and even play with her. Even though he was some kind of big shot boss of a bunch of Level 0s, he would still take her in so she had someone to play with. Slightly upset by the change of plans, Fremea still hummed happily as she rode the train to District 10. All she had to do was send a message to her best friend and he would met her at the usual spot to pick her up. It only took a few moments for Komaba to message back that a few of his friends would pick her up this time, probably the dirty minded shaggy blond boy or the nin-nin thug.

But as she arrived at the meet up spot, Fremea had found neither of Komaba's friends. Instead, she found a bunch of common thugs standing over a few familiar faces she had seen in Komaba's gang, silent and bleeding, before turning their eyes to her. Fremea grew fearful, seeing the ill intent in their eyes as she asked them who they were.

The leader of the gang, a boy with spiky hair running far back in green and pink, with a nasty nose ring on his nose and tongue, grinned darkly. The initials VD were spray painted white like an emblem on his green, torn jacket.

"Just some old friends of Komaba, little girl. Oh? Were you the one they were waiting for by any chance? Oh, isn't that sweet. I didn't take that self righteous fuck wad Komaba as a lolicon though. Hey, how's 'bout we bring ya to him? Don't worry, Warui-onii-san won't hurt ya."

Fremea may have been a little girl, but even she knew better than to listen to such a person. Turning her back, she had run away from the thugs who began to chase after her. Her little legs ran as fast as they could to escape them as she took whatever turns and corners she could to lose them. But they were older and faster, it would only be moments before they grabbed her and did god knows what to her.

Breathing heavily, Fremea had run past an empty street with only one of the thugs on her tail. The others had mysteriously disappeared, but she didn't have time to think of why. She was lucky to have only one of them chasing her. But fear still had her heart in a vice. She was tired, she couldn't keep this up much longer. Nearly stumbling in her steps, Fremea tried to find some place to hide or barricade herself in. At least until she could text Komaba or her big sister her location.

Spying an old, abandoned apartment complex, Fremea used the last of her strength to run as fast as she could to its front door. Luckily for her, the door was weak due to years of neglect and abuse, swinging open as she ran in. Inside, she found herself in an empty student dorm that was wide enough for two people to share, completely bare minus the piles of trash left behind by the gangs who wandered in, along with spray paint cans used to graffiti the walls. Her eyes searched for a place to hide, quickly finding the bathroom door. She ran over, shutting the door that was thankfully still in tact behind her and locked it just as the door to the dormitory was broken down again. Her little chest rose rapidly, her breathing heavy with sweat running down her fearful expression.

"There's no where to run now, brat! It's just you and me!" The thug laughed cruelly, his feet sounding like lumbering steps of a giant. She could swear she could hear his grin growing wide with his voice, "I gotta say, you found a nice little spot for us. You know, I was just going to bring you back unharmed to the boss. But than you started calling me a lolicon. That really hurts, you know? But who am I to call a little girl a liar. That's just cruel, don't you think? If a lolicon's what I am, than a lolicon's what I am."

Terror now crushed Fremea's little heart. She heard something disturbing hit the floor. It sounded like a belt. She hurriedly reached for her cellphone, hoping that her friend or sister could make it despite how illogical the notion was. But to her growing horror, she found her cell cracked, its screen unresponsive. The door her back laid on thumbed, a hand grasped the weak handle.

"You're going to make it up to your elder for causing him so much trouble, aren't ya? I think this is a much better lesson to teach you not to run off your pretty little mouth. Oh, I really hope you're a screamer!"

Tears spilled down Fremea's eyes as the handle was ruthlessly broken. No one would come to her rescue. She was all alone. No hero would save her.

The door was opened wide, leaving her to turn her tearful gaze to the cruel, sick, thug who licked his lips down at her on the floor. His pants were gone, his hand reached forward.

"How about you open that little mouth of yours again, you lit-!"

 **THWACK!**

In an instant, those leering, perverse eyes grew wide with pain and shock from a strong impact smacking into his head with the force of a baseball. A metallic clink hit the floor along with a metal spray can rolling at the thug's feet. The pain caused him to stumble to his left, twisting around with a furious snarl at the bastard who interrupted him. Fremea's tears stopped, pausing as she got a look at the lone figure who had come out of nowhere to her rescue.

It was boy with spiky dark hair, a plain, normal face, shirtless with burns and bandages over his body, and raging, angered, dark blue eyes that glared at the thug with his right arm positioned from a throw. Fremea gasped lightly, recognizing the plain, normal boy. The same one who had caused the jug of water to fall on her big sister.

"Y-You bitch! I don't know who you are, but you'll regret what you just done!" The thug spat as he reached for silver knuckle dusters in his jacket.

The normal high school boy's expression grew livid as the thug charged at him with a left swing. Without knowing it, his right hand flexed and balled up with quivering rage.

"Regret? As if I'll ever grow to regret stopping some sick son of a bitch from laying his hands on a little girl! Nothing you could ever do could make me regret saving a crying child! If you think that you could make me ever, for a fucking second, think twice about answering the cries of a little girl, than. . ."

Quicker than the thug could react, the spiky haired boy caught the fist with his left hand and gripped the wrist tightly to stop any notion of moving back. And than, with his right fist, burned, cut up, and taped, drove the knuckles deep into the thugs face with a thundering shout mixed with a pained and strained grimace.

"I'LL JUST SHATTER THAT BACKWARDS ILLUSION!"

The thugs eyes bulged, turning white from the trauma drilled into his face. Compared to the many punches to the face he had taken, this should have been nothing. But the force of the fist could only be compared to what he swore was a sledgehammer bashing into his face. The punch didn't stop, carrying his body back before the spiky haired boy slammed him into the floor with a thunderous thud that shook the litter of the dorm. A struggled groan of pain trailed from his lips before he grew silent. The thug was out cold with one punch, laid out with broken teeth, a twisted bloody nose, and an ugly bruise over his face.

Touma grunted in displeasure as he fanned his right hand. He had been punching a lot of people today, so he was use to it. But due to some idiot bandaging his dominate arm with military grade tape that belonged in mech suits, Touma had been favoring his left hand since he went back on the streets. In his anger though, he forgot about the tape and fired off a much more devastating punch that he wasn't normally capable of. That fact that he hadn't broken a finger yet was surprising, it felt like the muscles in his entire arm were being pulled like taught rope! It seemed that his right fist was accustomed to such damage though.

Again, what exactly did the past Kamijou get into for his right hand to be this weathered for knocking people out? Please don't tell him he really was just some no good punk who got into fights in the streets on a regular basis! This Kamijou didn't want that kind of life!

"NYAAAAAAAAAA!"

Kamijou's identity crisis was temporarily put on hold by the crying, flying embrace of the little blond haired girl he had saved. Small she may have been, as tall as his stomach really, but she proved to be strong, or he was just sore all over. Either way, the girl's embrace brought a grunt of pain from Touma as she continued to hug his waist for dear life.

"Hey! I appreciate the hug of thanks, but this Kamijou-san's not fit for that right now! I seriously think you're strangling my organs! Something's about to breakkkkkk!"

Tears, snot, and muffled words were this unfortunate Kamijou's response from the blond girl rubbing her face in his abdomen. His hands moved to pry her off only to meet resistance as she only hugged him tighter. The exact pose they were in wasn't exactly flattering either when he thought about it.

"Seriously, let go! Do you even know how this looks right now?! If anyone were to walk in on this right now, they would find some sicko with his hands on a crying girl on his lower body! With this Kamijou's rotten luck, I'm bound to be treated the same way as that pervert!"

Sniffling, Fremea reluctantly released her hold on Touma's waist. A small hiccup came from her mouth as she stared up at Touma, causing a look of regret to grow on his. Making that comment right now wasn't exactly in good taste.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to be rude or anything. It's just that my body's a little worn out from all the fighting I've run across." Touma sighed as he scratched the back of his head before kneeling down to the girl's level. His eyes quickly roamed over her own, looking out for any wounds on her person. Thankfully he couldn't spot any. It just looked like she was tired from running away from lolicon. Seeing tears still rolled out the blond girl's eyes, Touma gave her a smile and moved to wipe her tears.

"It's alright. No one's chasing you now. So, don't cry. I'm sure you're strong enough to do that, right?"

Fremea had no idea who the stranger was. She had only briefly met him as her older sister chased him out from Joseph's. From what she had heard from him, his name was Kamijou. In the end though, it didn't matter. The random spiky haired boy had saved her from harm, and worse. And unlike the strangers she had run into, his words and eyes weren't filled with malice or ill intent. They were kind, warm, and caring.

"Don't worry, this Kamijou-san swear's to keep you safe."

Essentially, she couldn't help but listen to him and his promise as she nodded. Fremea moved closer to the spiky haired boy, taken him by surprise as she hugged him much gentler. It was only than that she realized just how tired she was after escaping those thugs. So tired. Her legs didn't even have the strength to move from the spot she found herself. And embracing the spiky haired boy felt so nice. She couldn't help but be lulled into cozy embrace as her eyes fluttered tiredly.

"Thank you, Kamijou-onii-san."

No one could blame her for falling to sleep in her hero's arms. She knew without a doubt, by his voice and eyes, that she was in safe hands now.

Touma sighed tiredly as he carried the blond girl princess style in his arms. Poor kid, it must have been traumatizing for her to have gone through what she just did. If he had been even a minute later. . .

The haunting thought was squashed with a shake of his head. At least he made it in time. Though that did bring into question what a kid like her was doing in District 10. Was she one of the passengers that were abandoned here like him? That would mean that her parents or guardians were here too. Which meant he would have to find them. Just another mission added onto his own personal objectives.

"Jeez, can this day get anymore stressful!? What am I even saying; it's me! Of course it's only going to get more stressful! Such misfortune!"

Grumbling under his breath, Touma exited the dorm to make his way back into the streets of District 10. Which was still in the middle of a gang war. Meaning staying out to long would only drag him into another fight, only this time with an elementary schooler in his arms. Again, just his handed down luck.

"Alright, along with finding this girl's parents, I still got to find Index, Angela, and Toka, along with that doctor, and try to get out of District 10, which is in the middle of a gang war, while also avoiding a red suit wearing guy with a pile bunker who want's to settle an old score between him and the past Kamijou. Am I missing anything else?" Touma complained loudly to no one but himself.

Amid Touma's aimless walk for his friends, he heard the whish of air from a heavy object flying past his back. The object rustled his hair as it was slammed into the abandoned, stripped, car at his right. Than he heard it, the disturbing sound of bones cracking from what he guessed was a person wedged into the metal vehicle from the force it was thrown. Touma didn't wish to, but he stopped and glanced back, finding a Skill-Out thug with green and pink hair dented into the frame of the car. It was almost comical if it weren't for the blood now seeping onto the pavement.

"This is your only warning. If you don't hand over the girl now, than you're going to wish you were him."

Touma wasn't sure where he came from, but the one responsible for the thug's state came forward from his left. The spiky haired boy turned around, finding an imposing figure slowly walk over.

The man, or giant, had dark hair cut short, a strong jaw and an intimidating expression with cold dark eyes. The man's build was like a tank, possessing thick muscles that stretched his black leather jacket to the point Touma's was sure it would rip with one wrong move. And his voice was deep, showing no nonsense for joking around. He meant every word that he said.

Touma eyed the gorilla like man warily, knowing that with the added weight of Fremea, he couldn't escape quickly enough. Instead, he waited for the towering man to get closer before making a move.

With all the fighting and dangerous groups running around in some war that Touma wanted no part of, he couldn't exactly trust anyone affiliated with Skill-Out. Even the boy named Hanzou who had treated Touma's wounds had only done it in hopes of him joining their ranks. It was these people who were responsible for all the chaos his friends were now dragged into. Anyone who was a part of Skill-Out would only mean harm.

As the hulk of a man stopped to face him, Touma noticed that he had his eyes solely focused on Fremea. His hands gripped the sleeping blond's body tightly. Again, it seemed another bastard wanted to do her harm. For some reason, these thugs wanted to take the girl for nothing pleasant he could think of. She had already been through enough. He wasn't going to let her go through any of that bull crap again!

Even though Touma had only just met the girl who's name he hadn't even learned, he refused to just let her go. He swore to her after all that he would protect her.

"I won't do that. So, get lost!" Touma said defiantly.

Komaba Ritoku, the leader of Skill-Out, scowled menacingly.

Today of all days was not the best day for Fremea to visit. He had hoped that the men had sent over would be able to pick her up and bring him to him, just so he could make sure she safely made it back home. She couldn't stay here, not with all the fighting. But then he got word of the little blonde girl being kidnapped by Vile Dog's gang that wasn't so keen on his methods.

Dropping everything he was doing, Komaba had gone off in search of his little Fremea and punish all those who would dare to hurt someone he dearly cared for. In his hunt, he had found several of the men who were after her and dealt with them quickly. Now he had found Fremea, but in the hands of some stranger who he had no idea what intent he held. For all he knew, the shirtless boy covered in wounds and bandages was part of another faction that only wanted to threaten him.

Too much was going on for Komaba to be asking questions to some stranger. He didn't have time to chat or reason. Even now, his men were being killed or attacked by the idiots who were fighting for some as worthless as control of District 10. If anything, he would at least try to not break as many bones.

Words were a waste. He would deal with the boy and return to hunting down the person who had instigated all the fighting to put an end to this ridiculous infighting between factions. If he had enough time when it was all over, Komaba would come back to treat the unfortunate boy.

Steeling his resolve, Komaba wasted no time as he threw a left fist at the spiky haired boy, careful not to harm Fremea.

Touma grit his teeth at the incoming fist. He couldn't dodge in time. But maybe he could screw with the thug's aim. Good thing he thought to pick up few items earlier. Quickly fixing the little blonde girl over his shoulder, Touma reached for the back of his waist for the concealed item and aimed it at thug.

Komaba's eyes went wide as a spray of black paint washed over his face, the burning chemicals stinging his eyes and blinding his sight. His body jerked back as he bit back a shout. With his sight gone, his fist flew overhead of Touma's head as the spiky haired ducked and took the opportunity to drive his foot into Komaba's shins. The blow further disoriented the thug and stumbled him.

Touma had no idea where to go, but he knew he couldn't stick around the area for another second. Once again, he was on the run. At least this would all go towards improving his stamina. That was something to be thankful for. Kinda.

Careful to keep the little blonde girl close to his chest as he ran, Touma searched the streets for a place to lay low. He really wasn't sure if he could outrun a guy who had effortlessly tossed a thug into a car like he was as ball. The smart thing to do was to lose the gorilla like man. If it came down to it, which Touma was hoping it wouldn't, he wasn't sure he could last in a fight against the large thug. As it was, the unlucky boy was already wounded by the days events. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep pushing his tired body. Not unless. . .

A cautious glance was thrown to Touma's right hand, the very hand that was useless when confronted with anything that wasn't supernatural. What he was staring at though wasn't the mysterious ability that laid within, but the still intact military tape wrapped around his entire arm. Hard Taping, that's what Hanzou had called it, right? It was a tape like material that was fastened to the joints of Academy City's infamous Power Suits to better allow it to maneuver the field in ways no mech should. With it, the no good thugs of Skill-Out had found a creative and dangerous method of application to the human body, increasing their own movement and strength to that of a Powered Suit. It was a pretty ingenious technique.

Hard Taping came with a downside though. The tape put a heavy strain on the muscles of the human body, threatening to tear the organic fibers apart with too much use or miss use. And with this Kamijou's luck, he would suffer the negative effects. It was almost certain.

Even now, he could still feel the strain of his right arms muscles from throwing one punch. If he did it again, he was positive he would end up with his arm dangling limply at his side. That wouldn't do him him any good with his current situation. Guess he would just have to save it for a last resort. He wasn't planning on fighting anyways.

In his search, Touma came across a deserted shopping district. Well, close to deserted. From the looks of it, it had suffered from all the infighting in Skill-Out. Numerous thugs were laid out, knocked, badly injured, or worse. It brought a bitter frown to Touma's face at all the bloodshed spilled. And for what? Just why the hell were all these thugs, delinquents, drop outs, and gangster's killing each other for?! What the hell could justify all this?

Biting his lip, Touma forced himself to look away from all the bloodshed and run into one of the department stores. In the back of his mind, he was cursing himself for leaving all those injured behind, but he didn't have a choice. He was sure the gorilla like man was on his tail.

It was only a few minutes as Touma had entered into the department store that the doors were broken through by a heavy object crashing through with the force of a runaway car. Touma grimaced, realizing that there was no way to outrun the man. It seemed that the thug was just hellbent on chasing after him. Whether it was to beat him to a bloody pulp for blinding him with a can of spray paint or for the little blonde girl he held in his arms, he had no clue. Probably both.

Did that mean that fighting was the only way out of this? When it came to one on one fights, he was confidant in his skills. Or rather, the skills he inherited from the previous Kamijou. But the man he was up against wasn't your ordinary street thug. Touma was pretty sure that the gorilla like man could snap him like a twig if he gave him the chance.

It didn't look like the spiky haired boy would get a choice in the matter. As Touma slid to hide behind an emptied jewelry counter top, something flew past him and crashed into several tattered clotheslines. From the looks of it, it had been a busted cash register turned cannonball. Touma couldn't help but gulp. Was the man even human?

"Hand her over. I'm not going to ask again. Little tricks like before won't work twice. Because I won't allow you a chance to try your hands at scoring a lucky hit like that again."

Touma grunted as the side of the glass display he was hiding behind was shattered by another register thrown his way, showering him and the little blonde girl in bits of glass. It looked like there was no point in hiding. There was no escape. Though the situation was looking grim, Touma couldn't help chuckling as he rose up from behind the jewelry display, careful to set the little blonde girl down and away from the shards of broken glass.

"Luck, huh? Is that what you would call it? From my view though, it was no better than poking at a gorilla's eye. Wouldn't you think so?"

Touma walked over the display case to face the gorilla like man wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He could see the black paint spread over the thug's face and his eyes having turned red. The thug stared at the spiky haired boy with a cold glare, seeming to wish nothing more than to beat him to a pulp that wouldn't be recognizable as human.

Komaba didn't respond back. He was past talking with the stranger at this point. He didn't know the spiky haired boy's reasons for taking Fremea, and honestly? He didn't care. The little blonde girl with a smile that made him swear to protect her the day he met her was his responsibility. He would never allow any harm to come to her. He was her Hero. And that role belonged exclusively to him.

No one else.

Whatever that spiky haired boy's reasons, they meant nothing to Komaba's own. He would take Fremea back with him. Even if he had to dye his knuckles red.

Komaba cracked his neck, ignoring the searing burning sensation in his eyes as he carefully adjusted the Hard Tapping over his limbs. He was sure he wouldn't need its boosting effects from the military tape to deal with this small fry. All it would take is one punch.

Touma adjusted his stance, knowing nothing he would say would get him out of this. All the other thugs he had dealt with were the same. They only understood how to talk with their fists. If he wanted to get out of here with the sleeping little blonde girl safe and sound, he would have to suffer a few more hits.

The first to move came as no surprise. Komaba charged straight ahead with a fist cocked and loaded to dish out some serious pain. The gorilla like man moved faster than the other Skill-Outs Touma had faced, showing that when it came to physical prowess, he was no slouch. The man rushed straight ahead in a matter of moments of swinging space. Touma grunted, falling back into his instincts as Komaba swung down his fist that the spiky haired boy swore would have taken off his head. Touma ducked at the last moment, feeling the air tickle his spiky locks and moved to attack next. His eyes went wide in alarm, catching the gorilla like man's left knee rise up to crack his forehead like porcelain. Thinking quickly, Touma caught the knee with his palms to soften the blow. But even the rising knee proved to be as powerful as the man himself, sending the unfortunate high school boy up into the air.

 _'W-What the hell kind of muscles does this guy have?!'_ Bewilderment swiftly turned into pain as the stern faced thug launched a spinning kick into the airborne Kamijou's abdomen. The force had completely robbed Touma of his breath, causing him to spit out his very breath along with saliva as he was sent flying like a soccer ball. His body crashed into the section of the store that funny enough sold woman's undergarments. His body flew into an old discarded pile of bras, burying him in the colorful and racy lace. Seemed even delinquents weren't so depraved to loot said items. Than again, if they were never worn to begin with, what's the point?

Either way, Touma groaned below all the soft, risky, worn out lace.

"Of course, I would end up underneath all this filth." he grumbled as he rose up with a slight blush on his cheeks. The blush would probably be due to the white lacy bra clinging to his head. Among others that had found themselves wrapped around him. Thank whatever deity that may have been watching out for him that Index wasn't around.

Sadly there was no time to get rid of the lacy wear as Komaba came charging in.

Touma thought quickly. The man proved to be fast, strong, and could probably take a hit if he had to. In a contest of strength, Touma would lose without a doubt. Which meant he had to figure out a way to either knock him out in one hit, or possibly injure him enough to slow him down when he ran away. Thankfully the gorilla like man's only focus was on Touma and not the little blonde.

Seeing Komaba come in hot, Touma acted without thinking, relying on his body to make up for his shortcomings. His left hand reached for a bundle of bras, and just as the muscled thug came in to swing down a hammer arm that would most likely break something, swung the colorful lace up in his face. Komaba flinched, his already blurry sight blinded by countless colors ranging from red, black, green, and white. The slight flinch was all that Touma needed as the hammer arm paused it's descent. The spiky haired boy couldn't help but grimace and bite down on his teeth as clenched his right fist.

He didn't want to use Hard Tapping, not when the first time he had used it had made his muscles feel like they were being pulled to their limit, but he didn't have any other choices available to him. He wasn't even sure that with the amplified effects of Hard Taping that it would be enough. Just to make sure, he was going to add a little more oomph, courtesy of the little trinket he had picked up from the thug that had been chasing the little blonde girl.

Something struck Komaba's stomach while he had been distracted by the colorful lace that had fallen over his face. His blurry eyes flew open as he felt what could only be described as a police ram drive into his gut. Despite his muscles and hardened body, Komaba still found himself skidding back from the punch that had nearly sent him flying away. His face was twisted slightly from the pain, something he hadn't expected from what he guessed had been the spiky haired boy's fist.

How was that possible? The kid didn't posses any visible muscles that would allow him to throw hits like a man more than twice his size. And since when had the boy's fist become hard as steel?

Clutching onto his stomach with one hand, Komaba glared at the spiky haired boy as he struggled to regain his breath. He quirked a brow, noticing the pained grimace on the boy's face as well as the fact he was clutching onto the right hand that had struck him. It was than that he noticed two distinct details.

One; would be the knuckle dusters in the spiky haired boy's hand. A hand to hand weapon that helped the user force more damage on a concentrated area to better break bones. It was a common weapon found on many of the Skill-Outs that roamed the street. It shouldn't have surprised him to see some nameless Skill-Out use them, especially a pair that appeared to made of something more than brass.

And Second; would be the familiar bandages wrapped around the entire length of the boy's arm. Calling them bandages though would be a stretch. Hard Taping; military grade elastic taping that was fitted for the joints of Powered Armor to allow better movement. But when used on a human body, it allowed one to reinforce the joints and muscles to increase speed and strength beyond a human's regular limits. Using it though put a heavy strain on the body, threatening to tear apart muscles and deteriorate the joints if used wrongly or too many times.

So, that explained the monstrous punch. Komaba couldn't help but smirk slightly through a grimace at the sight. Not many would go through using Hard Taping, not even his own men despite knowing its benefits. The strain it would put on a normal human body was too much for them to handle. Someone who was unfit would shred their muscles after one use. But someone like Komaba who was well fit like an Olympic athlete could handle the strain as long as he didn't overdue it. To actually see someone who didn't appear to be all that built handle even one use of the elastic tape was impressive.

 _'C-Crap! I don't think I can do that again. My arm's throbbing like it's gained it's own heart, one that's heavily crusted with cholesterol!'_ Breathing heavily, Touma massaged his forearm with a wince. Again, he had used Hard Taping, only this time the effect was a lot more prominent. It felt like the muscles in his right arm were screaming. Still, despite the pain using the tape caused him, Touma clenched his right fist with a crack as he set his sight on the pained expression on the muscled thug.

It had worked. Adding in the extra damage created with the knuckle duster he had picked up, he had actually done some damage. Enough to actually send the man skidding back and give Touma some distance. Now Touma only needed to keep it going. Just a bit more, he only needed to keep that attack going just a bit more. When he thought about it, it really didn't matter if using the Hard Taping messed up his right arm. Not when it could help him protect that little blonde girl sleeping peacefully through all the fighting.

Instead of Komaba making the first move, it was Touma who charged ahead with a roar. This time, Komaba wasn't going to underestimate the spiky haired boy. He had done it twice already. He wouldn't allow the boy to get lucky again.

Both Level 0's reared their respective right and left fists back, clenched with all their might, and threw their fists against another with a mighty crack of knuckles meeting knuckles. This time, Komaba decided to utilize the Hard Taping wrapped around his arm, applying more force behind his own blow to meet Touma's. Twisted grimaces marred both their faces, the added backlash of the elastic tape and the fists meeting their own sending a splitting sensation to crawl up their arms. Yet they didn't relent in the slightest. Pulling back their fists, they went back on the attack in a game of bloody knuckles, throwing rights and lefts in a barrage of wild fists that countered the others. Each time their knuckles met, another crack of bone rang out like firecrackers.

Feeling the strain grow, Komaba backed up from the next straight right delivered by the spiky haired boy. Instead of throwing another fist, he crouched down and leaped up high into the air, catching the boy by complete surprise. Spinning back, he then shot down with an ax kick that would undoubtedly break the boy in two. Touma couldn't dodge that, instead enduring the falling leg with his forearms throw up to block. The sound of cracking bone made its way to his ear, causing a muffled yell of pain from the unlucky boy. It felt like the bones in his forearm had suffered some kind of fracture. Sucking in a deep wince, Touma shoved the pain down and quickly grabbed onto the larger man's ankle. And with all his strength, along with the added boost of Hard Taping, swung the stunned gorilla like thug around like he was swinging a weight.

Face twisted in agony from the strain the action put on his muscles, Touma finally let go of Komaba to send him flying into the men's clothing section of the store.

Displaying great reaction speed, Komaba flipped in his flight course, landing to skid on his feet to have his back against an old clothing wrack. His glanced back at the metal rack and grabbed it. Locking onto the gasping, sweating pained faced spiky haired boy, he then proceeded to launch the wrack like an Olympic pole.

Touma's eyes grew with panic as he watched Komaba perfectly throw the clothes wrack at him with scary precision. Seriously, was this guy even human? Why the hell would Esper's pick on Level 0s when there was a guy like this around?! Was this gorilla like thug even a Level 0?

Just barely evading the metal wrack flying past him, Touma went on the evasive as Komaba went on a launching spree of throwing whatever he could find around him at the spiky haired boy. From clothing wracks, torn up seats, registers, and chunks of broken wall and furniture, Touma dodged them all as he made his way over to the leather dressed thug. Getting closer, Touma spied a flying chair heading straight at him, spun around it, and at the last moment as it was about to pass him by, grabbed onto one of its legs with his right arm. Locking his own sights on the muscled thug, he continued his spin for momentum and sent it back. The added benefits of Hard Taping sent the chair flying like a missile, catching Komaba off guard as it struck.

That was enough to stun the big man, allowing Touma to run into his personal space with a rising uppercut to the gorilla man's chin. The blow threatened to break Komaba's jaw as he grunted deeply and stumbled back. His left hand flew to his chin, gingerly grasping it as blood slipped past his fingers from the torn skin. He didn't have much chance to recover as the spiky haired boy jumped up in his charge to bring down his right fist for a falling punch.

This boy wasn't as normal as he appeared. Komaba now realized that. No one else had been able to perfectly dodge his attacks or even match him in strength. The added benefits of Hard Taping clearly helped to damage him, but the boy was actually able to endure its backlash. Not to mention that reaction time. The way the boy fought told him of something important; this wasn't his first brawl. The way the spiky haired boy moved, countered, hit, and evaded him told a story of countless encounters like this. Someone who appeared to be just a common thug like the many other Skill-Outs was capable of keeping up with him at this pace.

Yes, the boy wasn't to be treated so lightly. Komaba couldn't fight him if he took him as anything less than a high school boy. It was time to stop holding back.

Touma's grew stunned, finding the muscled thug disappear in a blink of an eye. How d-!

"I've played with you for far too long. Apologies if you die."

Appearing with pure speed behind him, Komaba held Touma in a grapple form behind. Utilizing the full extent of his Hard Taping wrapped around his body, he had ran under the boy and jumped up to attack him from behind. He had only been using Hard Taping to reinforce the muscles in his arms and to a lesser extent, his legs. But now he was employing the full effects to his entire body's joints and muscles.

At his current state, the boy would no longer be able to hit him.

Touma didn't even have the chance to scream out in agony as Komaba flipped them both over in their descent and drove his skull into the carpeted floor. The force Touma had been hit with caused his body to bounce once before he found himself laying on the floor with frozen expression of pain and shock. He couldn't even breath as he choked on the pain coursing through the entirety of his head. Blood seeped out to puddle around his head, the impact of his skull smashing into the floor causing a large tear of skin on the front of his skull.

He couldn't move, only the occasional twitch of his fingers was all he could muster. With one hit, Touma had been incapacitated.

Landing back on his feet, Komaba spared the unmoving boy a spare glance. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed. It had been some time since he had fought someone who could force him to go all out, if only for a moment. The boy was good, but clearly he was just an amateur with some well honed instincts. Nothing he couldn't barrel through when he was serious. And while Komaba himself was hurt, it was nothing he could ignore until he had the chance to treat the wounds with some first aide.

With a slight grunt of discomfort due to the strain of Hard Taping on his body, Komaba set his sights back to the jewelry display case where he knew a certain little blonde slept. He had wasted more than enough time on one random delinquent. He needed to get Fremea to safety and than deal with the Skill-Out war on the streets as soon as possible. As the leader of Skill-Out, he had a duty to protect the streets of the kids who followed him.

"A-And j-just whe-where do you t-think you're. . .going?"

Komaba paused mid step, back facing the boy who had somehow gathered the strength to stand back on his own feet. An annoyed scowl came to his face, not sparing the heavily panting, bleeding, and bruised boy a glance as he spoke.

"Stay down, boy. This has nothing to do with you. I'm only after the girl, you are of no importance. So, just lay down and rest. If you push your body any further, you'll only break it beyond repair. Even an idiot would know when to stand down." Komaba said sternly as he took another step forward.

"Sorry, but I can't do that. Even if I wanted to, I can't. I just fucking can't!"

Against his better judgment, Komaba stopped and glanced back at the heavily wounded spiky haired boy. The muscled, gorilla like thug, with a permanent stern expression, grew still, finding himself taken back as he got a good look at the boy's expression.

Touma's eyes were hard as stone, showing an unyielding determination on his bruised, blood stained faced. His right arm looked like it was struggling to stay up, positioned for another chambered fist. Everything about the boy spoke of the many fights he had found himself in since this morning. He looked no better than the Skill-Outs outside the shopping district that had fallen in some pointless fighting. And yet, he stood tall, his body battered and bloody, with a right fist ready to continue breaking through whatever he stood for.

It was beyond a shadow of a doubt that the spiky haired boy Komaba was facing wasn't your average delinquent. No run of your mill delinquent could display such will and determination, they would have run away by now. It was enough to bring some doubt to Komaba's own determination.

Why? Why was the boy fighting so hard? What could he possibly be fighting for with such tenacity? What was so worth breaking his body like this? Just what had bore this kind of stoned, unmoving, unrelenting strength?

With a step forward, Touma walked over to the gorilla like thug, ready to go another round.

"I don't know your reasons for wanting the little blonde girl. I don't know what you could possibly gain from taking her. And I don't understand the circumstances that have lead to this girl being chased by a bunch of no good dumbasses, but it really doesn't matter. That girl was crying, she was being hunted down by some piece of shit that wished to do nothing but harm, all alone with no one to save her only to be targeted again! SHE WAS CRYING! AND THERE WAS NO ONE TO RESCUE HER BUT SOME NO GOOD HIGH SCHOOL IDIOT!"

The face of relief, joy, and tears on the little blonde girl's face was burned into Touma's memory. He had seen that face before on a certain day in July in a certain hospital room on the face of a certain silver haired nun. It was the face of someone's world being saved. Saved by some powerless boy with no memory, a fake impersonating someone greater, someone who was regularly called an idiot, and had no special talents other than a right hand that rejected even god's blessings.

The big muscled thug was right; this didn't involve Touma at all. None of this crap surrounding him involved him in the slightest. When he left this morning to grab a bite with the girls, the last thing he wanted to do was get into another fight with some bastards who were up to no good. All he wanted was a normal day without anything going on. Was that so much to ask? But no, the misfortune he was handed down by someone who's shadow he was always struggling to maintain dictated that something would go wrong.

But as much as Touma wanted to complain about all the misfortune he had found himself in, he couldn't allow his stroke of bad luck to be used as an excuse to turn away from someone who needed to be saved. No matter how frustrated, wounded, tired, burdened, troubled, or dead on his feet Touma found himself, he just didn't have it in him to ignore the softest cry for help. Whether that was the past Kamijou, or current Kamijou's feelings, he didn't care. All that mattered was that he could still raise his fist against whatever injustice he faced.

This average high school boy stood face to face with a man who was leader of a gang of zeroes, someone who was strong enough to even outwit Espers with his raw strength, and experienced enough to fight on the same level as said Espers with the tricks and tools up his sleeve. And despite the almost none existent odds of winning, the high school boy charged ahead without any concern of wrecking his right fist with another punch.

"I don't care for your reasons for taking the girl, but I refuse to give her up as long as I can get back up! I swore to protect her from anymore harm! As long as I can clench my useless fist, I won't allow another tear to roll from her cheeks! That's the least this poor Kamijou can do to protect the smile of a single girl! So, raise your fists, Gorilla-san! Because this no good high school boy has still got some fight left in him!"

On instinct, Komaba moved to meet the right fist with the full force and impact of his left fist, empowered by the full potential of Hard Taping. His thoughts were jarred from what he was hearing, seeming to come to a misunderstanding, one that he didn't have enough time to clear up as both Level 0s moved to take the other out.

Right and left fists flew past another, skimming by the other's forearm as they locked onto the face of their targets. Whoever struck first would be the decisive winner in this clash between abnormal zeroes. Nothing could stop them now.

If not. . .

"STOP!"

For the cry of a little girl.

The cry was enough to pause both zeroes fists from being driven into the other's face. Both Touma and Komaba were wide eyed in disbelief, staring straight at the other's knuckles that were only an inch from striking as a small buffet of air splashed over this faces. It had taken all their strength and focus to stop as the small cry had broken them out of their clash. A small body had suddenly hugged Komaba's legs, crushing them tightly in their arms as a small blotch of tears stained the gorilla's like thugs leather jeans. Both the zeroes could hear the small sobbing of the little blonde girl hugging Komaba's legs in attempt to stop him.

Fremea pleaded to the man she regarded as her best friend, crying out for him to stop.

"Please, Komaba-onii-san, please don't hurt Kamijou-onii-san anymore! Please, stop fighting!"

Komaba's expression was surprised, causing the muscled thug to slowly drop his fist as the little blonde girl tightened her embrace. Her words alone were enough for him to relax his taught muscles. A sense of relief washed over his face as one of his arms fell on Fremea's head to gently pat her like some fragile kitten.

Touma blinked in confusion at the scene. Eh? Wait a minute, wasn't the little blonde girl suppose to be running away from the thug? Why was she hugging him like he was her friend? That didn't add up at all! Wasn't he suppose to be protecting the little girl from the mean old thug? Komaba? Why did that sound familiar? And why the hell was the supposed gorilla like thug petting the girl's head like she was a cat?! Just how hard did he hit his head?

"Is this boy a friend of yours, Fremea-chan?" Komaba softly asked the little blonde girl, receiving a teary eyed nod in return.

"Nyaa! He's the hero who saved me from some lolicon that was chasing after me! If it wasn't for him. . ."

Komaba's expression twisted into a horrifying scowl that caused Touma to dryly swallow. Even if he himself wasn't the one the scowl was aimed for, he still suffered under the killer intent pouring out of the thug. It was terrifying to say the least.

Heaving a labored sigh, Komaba shut his eyes to gather his thoughts. So, it was a misunderstanding? To be fair, he may have jumped the gun early. All he had seen was just another delinquent with his little Fremea in his arms while she had been chased by members of a rogue Skill-Out gang. He had seen red and attacked first. It hadn't matter who or why the spiky haired boy had Fremea in his arms, all that had mattered was that she was returned to him.

Komaba was man enough to admit when he made a mistake. And clearly he had made a big one. From what he had just learned, the boy had actually been protecting Fremea from Vile Dog's, one of the rogue factions that weren't in line with Komaba's own rules and beliefs. In his eyes as a regular old high school student, the spiky haired boy had only seen a giant, ruthless, thug who was after a little girl for his own reasons. Of course he would fight back to protect her. Komaba would have done the same. The gorilla like man had even heard mention of why Touma had been fighting as they threw their last attack.

The misunderstanding had lead to their fighting. Two stubborn wills that refused to back down had fought. And it would have ended on an ugly note if they had kept going.

Patting Fremea's head one last time, Komaba opened his eyes to stare at the badly beaten spiky haired boy who stared at them with confusion. This boy who appeared no different than any other delinquent walking the streets had protected the very girl who had caused him to take control over Skill-Out to better protect her. It was funny to think such a plain looking boy could stand up to him.

"You were protecting Fremea-chan this whole time, were you?"

Touma eased his own muscles at the question, nodding firmly.

"Pretty much. I was in the middle of looking for my friends who were also left stranded in District 10 when all of sudden the streets were full of fighting among other Skill-Outs. Than out of nowhere, I see this little blonde girl running away from some Skill-Out spouting a bunch of crap he was going to do to her when he caught her. That lead me to running after him and knocking him out. I think you know what happened next." Touma sighed tiredly as massaged his aching right arm.

Komaba stiffly nodded. Right, he had threatened him with a flying thug wedged into a car. Anyone would go on edge and run away at that.

Realizing the situation had cooled down, Touma grew curious at the close connection the little blonde and the gorilla thug had. When he thought about it, it was like staring at a picture of a gorilla holding a kitten. It actually brought a small smile to his face. The bond kinda reminded him of his own with a certain freeloading silver haired nun.

So, that meant this was all a misunderstanding. They didn't have to fight after all. Guess he should asked more questions as to why the man was after Fremea than run away. Maybe than he wouldn't have wound up so sore and bloody. Again.

"You were just trying to protect her too, huh? Man, that's embarrassing. Here I thought you were just another pervert. Sorry about all that, I really didn't want it to come down to fighting in the first place." Touma apologized as he scratched the back of his head.

Komaba grunted, feeling ashamed himself for harming someone who had protected Fremea when he had failed to.

Letting go of Komaba's legs, Fremea stood in front of Touma and looked up with a bright smile on her face.

"It's alright, Kamijou-onii-san! Komaba might not say it, but he's sorry too! He's kinda like a mother gorilla when someone tries to harm me, or make fun of me. He goes all ape and beats people down with no remorse, cracking skulls like drums! You should see him go wild! No one ever messes with us again after he's done bloodying up their faces, nyaaa!"

"You're a little girl! Someone your age shouldn't be talking about things like bloodying up thugs with such an innocent smile on their face! Learn to speak your age!"

"Essentianly, you want me to gush about ponies and stickers? What normal girl does that?"

"Every last one one them! Why are you even hanging around someone who's obviously part of a gang? Shouldn't girl's your age be playing with other little girls? Since when do they play around with macho men who roam the streets of gang territory with a scary, stern expression permanently etched onto their face? That kind of scene sends warning bells ringing!"

Komaba scowled at the jab, displaying irritation aimed at the rambling high school boy.

Fremea huffed, puffing out her chest with a beaming grin.

"Why be a normal girl when I can be me? I'm nothing like the other elementary school girls my age, I wear a training bra, nyaa!"

"Why?! Why did you feel the need to add in such useless, boasting, red flag waving comment!?"

Scooping up the boastful little blonde with a red beret in his arms, Komaba sent a warning glare towards the ticked off Kamijou. It really was like seeing a protective gorilla caring for a kitten.

"Hey! Don't look at me like I'm some lolicon obsessed pervert! I'll have you know this Kamijou-san prefers mature manager dorm onee-sans, damn it! The last thing that would cause this Kamijou-san's heart to flutter is this brat!"

"Nya, nya, nya! Are you saying that this adorable Fremea-chan doesn't stir your heart!? Even the almighty leader of Skill-Out is weak to my charms! I'm way better than some old hag!"

"Say that again! I dare you to look down the beautiful, elegant, caring grace of dorm manager onee-san's again! Just see what happens, you nya-nya brat! And did you just casually mention something dangerous!?"

Did she just say 'Leader of Skill-Out'?! Did little Fremea just offhandedly mention that the gorilla like man he was fighting with was the leader of the biggest faction of Level 0s in Academy City? The one who was leading all the thugs, delinquents, punks, and gangster brawling it out on the street in some kind of war? That Leader of Skill-Out?

"Such misfortune." Touma sighed dejectedly as his head dropped.

Of course he would wind up fighting the very man who controlled all the people he had been fighting so far. Did that make Komaba his enemy? In all honesty, the imposing man didn't seem all that bad. No one who treated a little girl like Fremea so kindly and protectively could be the apparent ruthless leader of Skill-Out.

Before Touma could find out if what the little blonde french girl had said was true, their attention was diverted towards the sound of explosives going off outside the department store. The cracked, battered glass to the store was shattered by the force of whatever blast had occurred outside, blowing smoke and heat into the building that slowly swept over the three's position. Komaba moved to cover Fremea, guarding her from the toxic smoke as she lightly coughed. Shouts could be heard outside, the sounds of another fight growing in the background from the various fighting factions of Skill-Out.

"Just what the hell are they even fighting about!? What's the point of turning all of District 10 into a warzone if they're just killing another!?" Touma shouted angrily as he shielded his mouth with his left arm.

Komaba clicked his teeth, peering through the dying smoke to the fighting outside the department store.

"It's all the fault of some outside force. Someone's pulling the strings behind the scenes, manipulating all the factions with a series of misunderstandings that blamed the others for senseless attacks, creating war among Skill-Out. At least that's what one of my men had informed me. All this fighting is in due to some careless figure taking advantage of all the chaos for their own means. None of which I can guess is good." he spat in frustration.

Outside force? Touma thought back to what the delinquent named Viper had said before. All of this was just a ruse, a cover for a much bigger operation centered in District 10. All with the intention to prove that Level 0s weren't just fodder figures, powerless numbers with no real worth. Underneath all the senseless street brawling, there was a much deeper plot underway. And from the looks of it, it was all going according to plan.

Another clue was added on. Earlier today, he had been attacked by someone named Deadlock, a figure from his past that he had previously fought to. . .What? Touma frowned deeply, holding his forehead as a slight pain split his head. Protect from what? Why had he been fighting a guy like that? There was. . .there was someone he had been protecting, right? For someone reason, he couldn't remember what they were talking about, only that they had been enemies once upon a time. Why?

Ignoring the blank space in his memory, something he was sure was due to his memory lost, he put together Deadlock's goal along with the revelation that someone was orchestrating the small war between the factions of Skill-Out. It couldn't be a coincidence. Whatever Deadlock was plotting involved the mysterious figure that invoked all the senseless fighting. Which meant. . .

"Damn it, that means Index and Angela-san are caught up in all this too!"

Deathlock had been after Dr. Tatsumi, something about the doctor being needed for whatever his employer had in mind. And Index, Angela, and even Toka were running around the streets with said doctor that was being hunted down. Touma had hoped that they could run away, hide somewhere until all the fighting had calmed down until he found them, but it was now obviously clear to him that they wouldn't be safe. Even if they left District 10, as long as they accompanied Dr. Tatsumi, they would get dragged into all the chaos. Which put them in the dangerous center of all this.

The sound of a small rumbling in Komaba's pocket brought his attention to his cell. He frowned, recognizing the number as he answered.

"Hanzou, what is it? . . .Hmm? Kidnapped? What do you mean Hamazura was kidnapped by a couple of nuns?" Komaba grunted in disbelief.

Touma's heart stopped as he slowly turned towards Komaba. Did he just say nuns?

"You're serious? . . .What? Where is that? Why would they go there? And why drag Hamazura with them? How does he even get kidnapped by nuns of all people?"

"Nya, they probably showed him their bare thighs, causing him to go unconscious. Show Hamazura even a little bit of female skin, and his nose starts leaking red! It's like a broken faucet!"

Komaba sighed deeply, nodding along to whatever was being said on the other line.

"I understand. I'll meet you there as quickly as I can. Bring whatever people we have left. I think it's time we've put an end to all this mayhem."

The person on the end seemed to speak for a bit longer before the line died. With that, Komaba shut his cell and frowned as he looked down at Fremea. What he was about to embark on next was no place for children.

Fremea seemed to understand, puffing out her cheeks stubbornly as she stared up at the very man who had been there for her since a gang of Espers attacked her school.

"Nya, I know what you're thinking, Komaba-onii-san! Don't you think that I'm just going to go hiding now after all that! Besides, I don't think there's a safe place around here you can hide me away. There's no safer spot than being by your side, nya!"

Komaba struggled to argue with the bratty french girl. It was true, he couldn't think of anywhere he could tuck her away, not without worrying that another person would attack her. There was just something about little Fremea that caused trouble to follow her, leaving her in the position to be saved again and again. There truly was no safer and more secure place than having her stay by his side. Sadly, it wouldn't be the first time he had gone into a fight with the girl hanging around him.

"Fine, just stay close and don't wander off. Just leave everything to me." Komaba grinned slightly at the pleased little blonde girl.

"Nya!"

With that settled, Komaba prepared to go off and stop all the fighting at the root of the problem. He fixed Fremea to hang over his large shoulders, a familiar spot that she loved to rest on. He was ready to go off on his own, until he heard the spiky haired boy call out to him.

"Wait, I'm going too."

Komaba scowled, turning back to face the badly wounded Touma who was lucky to even be standing.

"This doesn't concern you. This is a matter for those in Skill-Out, the true 0s who only wish to protect their kind from the unjust nature of this world we've been locked into. Not to mention you're in no condition to be dragged into another conflict. You want my advice? Go home. Return to your average life and leave this to those with the strength to fight."

"Don't give me that shit!"

Even if he was wounded, tired, and ready to fall over in exhaustion, Touma pushed on as he glared at the imposing man. As if he could just run back home. Not until he had his friends back alongside him!

"I heard what your friend said, that one of your guys was taken in by two nuns! There are only two nuns in this city, and they're my friends! And for some reason, they're getting involved in all this mess created by some asshole that's playing this district like a damned board game! And you want me to go home? Screw that! I don't care where it may lead me, if it means finding Index, Angela, and even Toka, I would dive into the gates of hell without a second thought! If you think you can just tell me to leave and pray for them to make it back to me safe and sound, than I'll shatter that ignorant illusion!"

Again, Komaba found himself taken back by words of the average Level 0 before him. The words carried a certain power that made even him back down to. The spiky haired boy spoke of a determination that would not crumble no matter the force it faced. Whether he agreed or not, Komaba was sure that Touma would follow.

He couldn't help it. An amused smirk grew on Komaba's lips.

"If you follow, know that I won't be able to protect you. You're on your own. I won't have dead weight hanging off my shoulders."

"That's right! Even if you're super cool, sauve, and charming, we won't have anyone who can't pull their weight coming along, nya!"

"Just what kind of picture of this poor, unlucky Kamijou-san do you have in mind!? And as if you're one to talk, Weight-chan!"

"NYA?! Who you calling dead weight, Kamijou-onii-san!? If you didn't have such a glittery macho face, I'd kick you, nya!"

"G-glittery?!"

Komaba sighed, cracking his neck as he moved to exit the department store and continue on with his mission. All the while the little french girl hanging on his shoulders argued with the spiky haired high schooler following along.

This was not how he expected his day to be going. The crudely drawn picture Fremea had drawn him made no mention of this. Though she did get the part where his fists were bloody right at least.

* * *

 _ **The final stage is in sight. All the actors are now in route for the grand finale to the tale of Level 0's act of revenge against the city who robbed her of her wish. And a certain unlucky Level 0 has a VIP seat to the opening act.**_

 _ **An important question must be asked. How far will one go for one wish? How much despair must one endure? How much blood must be paid? How much suffering must be wrought? Just what are you willing to for that single wish to be granted with all your heart?**_

 **This was a fun chapter to write for me, almost close to the final battle I'm currently tapping away at. I've always loved writing out battle scenes, it's one of the reasons I got into writing in the first place. And we've got plenty more to come as the curtain begins to rise up for the grand finale.**

 **Hopefully I can finish the final chapter and get to working on the Epilogue before the end of the month. I really want to upload faster than once a month, but I don't want rush anything. Trust me, I end up changing a lot of things on a chapter I finished a month ago for the better when I'm editing it for a few days. It's worth the wait.**

 **Meanwhile, I got to continue searching for a new place to live. Last house a I found was a No. Sharing a house with two girls who already live there sounds nice, but not if you're moving in with your family. If I was on my own. . .still no. Trust me, I got my own brand of bad luck that would act up. Life ain't no anime. How I wish it was though.**

 **Anyways, remember to Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	7. Unheard Wishes

**NeoShadows back again with our monthly dose of good reading!**

 **Apologies for the late delay this month. This chapter's been done for almost two months now, but it needed a lot of touch up and edits. It took some time to polish it up to my standards, but here it is!**

 **Zeroes War is coming to a close now. We got about two chapters left, the Epilogue, and than we're moving on. Though we do have some down time before the new Sisters Arc, which will be renamed to better fit the overall changes and plot. Until than though, let's get through some reviews and move onto the action!**

 **DNWorks: I do what I can, glad to hear that you enjoy it. Deadlock is pretty much obsessed with the idea of proving that his way, his conviction, was always right and not so weak as to be broken when faced with some random nobody; especially a hero he's convinced was nothing more than a creation of his own weak resolve to follow through with his actions. As for his threat of 'what we Level 0s can do', it was more to establish that despite having no supernatural ability, they could still do something as simple as harm others. Oh, Komaba. We got plans for you.**

 **BlueJack22: Glad to crack a smile from you. And I saw that it was Biribiri's birthday on ToAru's Reddit page.**

 **Animan10: *Sigh* I. . .I know. I've done that twice now. I'm still trying to get use to the whole Japanese name proper thing. For some reason, it's more glaring when I'm addressing Hana. I have no idea why. Gonna need to fix that later. I am shamed. SHAMED!**

 **The Wookie1: Beating down Lolicons always brings a smile to my smile. Grounded Hana. . .heh, punny. And nothing more fun than fighting another thug while colorful underwear flies around you. Truly District 10's the place to be for a good time!**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: I have no idea why I keep messing up Hana's name! I literally didn't notice until going back after a review. I swear, I'll get this right. . .maybe. Hopefully I can keep the essense of Index going strong until the end.**

 **Anti Mage29: You know I debated on how to reveal Komaba's involvement in all this before deciding on a brawl with our unlucky Kamijou. I was scratching my head for a while on what would cause those two to fight another before little adorable Fremea reared her head into the picture. It would be Touma's usual misfortune to end up fighting the leader of a large majority of Skill-Out because he was protecting some random frilly dressed girl. As for the identity of Toka's mother. . .meh. I'm sure you'll know soon enough who it is.**

 **Jonathanblade00: Happy to have ya onboard the steam rolling train! The premise of the story was one that I had playing with other fandoms, but felt for some reason ToAru wore it better. Thank ArmoredC9Ball for giving me the push to release it.**

 **TazalTerminals: Oh yeah, there's a reason for that. The curse is much more than meets the eyes after all. IB was never needed for it to be broken. No matter what those kids of his are up to, they all carry the Will of Kamijou Touma within them. That's a good, and bad thing. Now, for Toka's age, I'll set this up for the current children we've met to better help.**

 **Kamijou Toka-Age: 16.**

 **Angela Kamijou-Age: 17.**

 **Misaka Hana-Age: 14.**

 **Out of all Touma's future children, there is one that is the oldest and most surprising. Mainly due to the fact that the oldest is only the oldest by circumstances. And trust me, no one would ever guess who the mother of the oldest is. Literally no one.**

 **Now that we're done with all that, you know what to do. Scroll away!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: _I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi. I'm surprised I'm even uploading right now. Been dead tired with my duties of opening a dog themed deli. Too tired to even crack open the good old laptop! Yet not tired enough to play some Stardew Valley._**

 _ **Fun game, and relaxing when you're too tired for action. I will say this though; I am unhappy that I can not form a relationship with the house wives.**_

 _ **. . .What? Don't stare at me like that! You all have your fetishes, leave me to mine! Stop staring at me like I'm traaaaassssshhhhh!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Unheard Wishes.**

 **Clashing_Limits.**

* * *

 **Between The Lines 3.**

It was on a rainy night, raging with clashing thunder streaks across the globe, that Mila had meet her new friend. The very friend that would save a young girl from suffocating beneath a sea of utter sorrow.

It had been strange. Academy City was highly advanced, to the point they could predict the weather months ahead of schedule in thanks to the super computer that orbited in space, Orihime-I. If the weather forecaster said their would be sun, their would be sun. If there was rain, there was rain. Simple as that. Even if said forecasts had been off a bit since Orihime-I had mysteriously gone down this month, they were still able to predict the weather within a high percentage of success. Like the weather of that day, cloudy with some sun, and no chance of rain. A cool night with a view of the moon was what awaited those beneath Academy City's sky.

And yet it had rained that night. Not just rain, but a monstrous thunderstorm had come down upon them, sending bolt after bolt to strike the city along with other parts of the world. That was the strange part, the thunderstorm had struck not just Academy City as a whole, but parts of England, Asia, Japan, and the west. It was unlike any other storm anyone had ever seen. She couldn't help but feel. . .haunted by the memory of it.

Despite how strange it was, it was the night she had met him in the soaking rain with a sky crawling with lightning.

It was as Mila had been walking back from the convenience store. Honestly, it was suppose to be her last night in this wretched city. Why, you would ask? Simple.

Mila had been planning on killing herself.

Suicide.

Yes, it was a rather chilling revelation. A girl so young with such a bright future ahead of her was planning on cutting that life short with an overdose of sleeping medicine. Dramatic, no? But she had seen no other purpose to live in this world that called her worthless. As a Zero, what worth did she hold? Especially when the family she had worked so hard to impress had abandoned her.

It had been four years ago that Mila had learned that the parents that had sworn to love her with all their hearts, had stopped contacting her. Her weekly allowance had been cut off. None of her calls reached them. The city had officially recognized her as a Child Error, a child abandoned to fend for herself in the city that had measured her with no power, yet still refused to allow her to leave. When she had first learned of her abandonment, Mila had cried. She had cried for days, pleading to the god that had abandoned this city to bring her back her parents. All she wanted was to be loved. That was all she had ever wanted! It was the whole reason she had gone to this city, to earn her parents love and finally be embraced as their only, loving daughter! As the darling twinkle in their eyes!

That deep sorrow had eventually turned to anger. Hatred, rage, and disgust. She felt nothing but contempt, but not at the father and mother who tossed her away, but at the city that had caused them to stop loving her. Yes, it was Academy City and their Power Curriculum's fault that they had abandoned her. It was them that had labeled her as a zero. It was all their fault!

With that revelation, Mila had grown to hate the city that had raised her with the label of 0. She had tried to leave, but it was far too late. She was now property of Academy City, however worthless she may be. Leaving was not a freedom or right for her. So, she spent the next few years stewing with that anger, skipping out on classes, having to learn how to fend for herself as a zero with no ability, and spiting the very foundation that nurtured her lack of abilities with false promises and hope. You would think that a girl like her would eventually get over that hatred, growing to cast it aside and try to live her life as well as she could, maybe even make a life life for herself with her own friends and family that actually cared for her.

Hatred though was a deep emotion. One that would only grow stronger and more potent with time. Sadly Mila had allowed that hatred to take control of her life, causing her to push away anyone that had hoped to bring her out of that toxic emotion. And that was how she had lived her life.

One could say that she would slowly grow out of it. She was just a child after all. In time, she would eventually see how childish she was to hang on to such hate. In fact, the last year she had begun to question said anger. Was it really this city's fault for her worthlessness? Was that number they planted on her really the reason she had been abandoned?

Mila could have become a normal girl. But life was made of could haves and would haves.

That very week, Mila had gathered the courage to look up what had become of her family. Since her parents had abandoned her, she had been too heartbroken to reach out to them, not after she could no longer contact them. She had wondered if there was any news of the father and mother who had once loved her.

Soleil Etoile. The sun at the center of her parents world. The little sister she didn't know existed. And the replacement for the forgotten star the Etoile family had forgotten.

The young seven year old had been born a year after Mila had been shipped to Academy City. To make up for the failure that was their daughter, her parents had replaced her with another daughter. One they had properly raised, groomed, and nurtured to be the perfect child they could proudly display to the world. The moment said little sun had proved how gifted she was at the age of four, Mila's parents had officially shunned their older daughter, cutting off her allowance, and dumped her to the world that had proved to them that she was just a waste of time and resources.

The second Mila had finished reading the glowing, warm, and loving article speaking of the love and affection the Etoile family spoke of for their one and only daughter, was the second her heart had been completely devoured by despair. There was no longer hate, just utter despair. An abyss of ever dragging sorrow had reached its countless hands to pull her into the dark pit of heart break.

Mila had been replaced. Forgotten. Abandoned. Thrown away. By the parents she had once believed would love her.

The forgotten star had collapsed. It had lost its light and will to live.

That despair had drove her to end her life that day. Nothing anyone could say or do would stop her from acting on that deep sorrow. The cloudy, raining night had fit for her last night in this unfair world. At least the sky would shed a drop at her death.

But than as Mila had walked back to her dorm, she had come across an odd sight. She found a dumpster by her dorm with a pair of feet comically popping out and twitching. She had nearly doubled over in laughter, especially as the owner of said feet had jumped out, covered in trash. Upon meeting the boy, she couldn't help but be memorized by the boy's eyes.

They were blue, an ocean blue that captivated her. The boy wore a simple white suit with golden lines running straight down with a golden collar, dark brown loafers, and white pants. The boy had had a kind pale face, his pale blond hair straight and falling to his neck. The very sight of the boy was like a beam of light that fell from the sky onto this dark and dreary world.

Arden. The pale blond haired boy's name was Arden. He didn't give her his family name, saying he wanted to be addressed by his first even though they had just met. He was a kind, comforting boy who had shone bright on that dark, dreary night that rained thunder.

Arden, the boy who had saved her life and showed her how to take revenge upon this corrupt world of facts and numbers.

On that very night, the boy Arden had shown her the weakness in Academy City's precious system that guarded their secrets; the strange thunderstorm had given them the chance to break through as for the first time ever its security systems had gone down. She wasn't sure how, but the pale blond boy had wormed himself into the system without the use of technology. It was almost like magic.

Mila had found herself trusting Arden, working alongside him on her plan to payback Academy City for labeling her as a zero, for the downfall of her life. With him by her side, she had learned of the Level Upper System; the facility the researchers had hide its remnants to further improve and develop it; and how she could use it to repay the city for all the hard work it had invested in their property.

Within the deep center of the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, surrounded by walls of steel pipes, and a staircase that lead deeper and deeper to the hidden vault that held the research of the Level Upper System, Mila smiled brightly, a pleased hum on her lips as she ventured deeper below. She had left the Skill-Out gang, Gunners to guard the entrance and await Deadlock on his return. The mercenary had accomplished his end of the bargain, having captured Dr. Tatsumi. As the one in charge of the facility, the good doctor was apparently the only one who had access to the vault. The doctor himself was also the head researcher of Level Upper, having redesigned its original purpose using several other classified projects.

Mila felt some sympathy for the family man. From what she had learned of her search of the classified files of Level Upper, Dr. Tatsumi was a Level 0 who wished to create a method of aiding Level 0s to gain a Personal Reality. It was for people like her that he had worked himself tirelessly for a better future for. Unlike the other researchers that prodded her body for an inch of development in her System Scans, he actually cared and thought of doing more than give Level 0s words of encouragement. He was a good man who understood the pain of being labeled as One With No Power.

But Dr. Tatsumi was too late to be of any help to anyone. His research had failed to do any Level 0 any good. It was far too late to save her. That innocent wish of hers could no longer be granted.

Mila had a new wish. And unlike before, she would realize it with her own hands. No matter the cost.

Reaching the end of the stairwell, Mila found herself at the very bottom level. After making her way through a cooling tower and a few other stops, she found herself in a room filled with various measuring devices for the levels of radiation, water pressure, and power. It was one of many that helped to control the levels of the plant. But this one was special. Walking over to the control center of the room, she typed in a few key phrases into the login screen, ones that had a special effect to the room. Behind her, the wall of computers began to slide away, revealing a hidden wall. The wall was simple in design, made of cold steel, smooth, and only having a hand imprint lock on its surface. It was more than just reading the divots in a hand though, it could only accept both the hands imprint and blood. Unless they had the man's hand, it would not budge. No amount of hacking could bypass the security measure.

That was no longer a problem though. Now that she had Dr. Tatsumi, she could move onto the next stage of her plan. Reaching for her cell to call her new friend to help finalize the last stage of her master plan, she found a certain wallet she had swiped falling onto the steel floor. Upon falling, the wallet opened to reveal to her the spiky haired Level 0 she had bumped into earlier. For a moment, her eyes locked with the face of the random high school boy she had met hours ago. She grew silent, scowling softly as his words echoed in her head.

' _Because in the end, it really doesn't matter!'_

Why now? Why now was that boy's words coming to mind? When Mila was ready to achieve what her heart of hearts desired, why now did that plain looking zero's words and face pop into her head"

Was it. . .doubt? No, she shook her head furiously with a scoff. Such a thing no longer resided in her heart. She's was more than ready to plunge this city, even the innocents, to the flames of her vengeance.

Carefully picking the wallet up, Mila dusted it off and gazed softly at the boy's face. For whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to toss the weathered wallet aside like trash. It was. . .kinda magnetic.

 _'Kamijou Touma. You seemed. . .like such a bright person. When I look at you, I can't help but feel as if I missed out on something. . .special.'_

* * *

The distance from the run down convenient store to the main nuclear reactor in District 10 was no easy feat, especially when the party of Angela, Toka, Hamazura, and a knocked out Hana were on foot. Meaning that it would take them hours to reach the plant. They would be lucky to catch the end of whatever was being plotted. It would be all for nothing.

Luckily for them, a certain dirty blond delinquent knew how to both hot-wire a car and drive said car. By a stroke of fortune, the car Hamazura had found was still in just barely working order. With a proper form of transportation, he had been forced to drive the girls and unconscious Esper to the center of all the chaos plaguing District 10. Something he really didn't want to be apart of. But he did gain some important information that had sent along to Hanzou.

If all went well, than Komaba would make it to the reactor too. The boss would surely bring an end to all this. Or at least save him from the two nuns. What the hell were nuns even doing in Academy City? This city was as godless as they came!

Thankfully, they were kind enough to treat his wounds. He wasn't sure how, but they were able to heal the damage done by the unconscious electromaster sitting in the back of the small car. The raven haired nun had used some weird light to wash over his wounds, mending the burned flesh and bruised skin. At the time he was in too much pain to question it, but he couldn't help but be curious now as they past the streets of District 10.

Most of the fighting had seemed to have died down. It was depressing to drive through the streets, finding the normally abandoned buildings damaged by the fighting of Skill-Outs many factions. He saw bodies from all the factions, even his own, strewn about the streets, wounded, unconscious, or worse. Even those who were still fighting looked to have grown tired, dropping their weapons and falling over from exhaustion. Their grudges could only last so long. They didn't bother to get in the way of the lone worn down yellow car making its way past them.

All this had happened because a few factions had attacked the other. It had gone to the point the fighting had broken out in The Food Stand Spire, a mutual ground where all the factions set aside their differences. The broken trust had caused a chain of reactions, creating tension that infected all the gangs to turn their guns on another. A literal war had raged in the streets. And for what? Control of District 10? Was something like that really worth this? Was that all there was to it?

Hamazura had gone silent as he had watched the red suited boy take away the scientist he had never met, left to listen to the boy go on about how they were using all the fighting as a cover for a much bigger plot. Did that mean they were just fodder? That all this was just part of someone's elaborate plan? That they were just disposable pieces to someone's chess game?

The dirty blond found his grip on the steering wheel tightening. His eyes furrowed deeply, feeling a fury grow in the pit of his stomach.

Did that mean, the people who had welcomed this worthless delinquent had died as part of someone's selfish plan?

"God damn mother fuckers!"

His cursing had startled the raven haired nun resting in the back. He couldn't help the outburst. It was only now that he was learning that this entire wave of violence that had consumed his home was all part of someone's plans for some shady goal he didn't even know of. Oh, now he was actually glad that he had been dragged along. If he could even get one good hit back at the son of bitch responsible for all this, he would be happy.

The unruly haired high school girl sitting in the front seat beside him gave Hamazura a curious glance. Like the rest, she was taking the time to rest for the big fight ahead. He wasn't sure what she could possible do, but he had seen her beat down an Esper who controlled lightning like a puppet master.

"Are you alright, Hamazura-san?"

Hamazura nodded stiffly.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just coming to terms with all this crap. I'll be even better if I can take a crack at the bastard who's responsible for all this shit."

The gruff response was enough to bring a smile to Toka's tired face. Seeing the man by her side, face now determined and fierce, certainly brought the painted picture in her mind to life.

Hamazura Shiage, The Trickster, The Tactful Zero, The One Favored By Fortune, The Hidden King, The One Who Defies Reason. A normal human who, when compared to the two heroes of the future, was truly the only who had no powers or abilities to speak for. And yet, time and time again, that regular human had turned the tables against the forces that meant to harm the people he loved. The true zero, luck seemed to have a thing for him, aiding him to allow him to defeat opponents who would normally stomp him to the ground with no effort. In time, he would prove to be a true threat to those who dared to cross his path.

The present Hamazura Shiage though appeared to be far from that person she had heard tales of. She seemed to have met him before he began his journey to become the hero he would be destined to be. It was nice to meet that hero before his tale began; it went to show how even some common thug could show he had the makings of someone great.

Resting back against the passenger's seat, Toka released a long sigh. There was still much to do and more trouble ahead of them. Thankfully Angela had applied some simple healing magic to mend her wounds, otherwise she would be groaning from the number her sparking little brother had done to her. Some time off her feet was really what she needed right now.

 _'I wonder how Tou-san's doing?'_ Now that she could think for a moment without imminent danger in her face, Toka couldn't help her thoughts from straying to a certain unlucky high school boy. She grimaced, recalling bits of how she had treated him while under the effects of the curse. Her right fist clenched tightly, hating herself for allowing that Magic God to cloud her love for her hero. Once again, The God of Ruin had brought her nothing but suffering.

 _'Not again, I won't allow myself to allow my weakness to bring him misfortune. I didn't cross through time itself to just be another burden for him to shoulder either. This time, I'll save him.'_

Kamijou Touma had saved the day more than any human should be capable of. One could say that it was his job once he had decided to wander the world by himself, focusing solely on resolving whatever conflicts would arise wherever he visited. He had placed the sole responsibility of the worlds troubles on his shoulders, believing that he could no longer remain just your average, normal, man. Not after the events that had changed her father to be the man he was in the future.

Toka, like many of her siblings, was left in the dark of the story that would come to change that normal high school boy's way of living. The fallout of the story was the reason why Kamijou Touma had decided to never remain in one place for too long, to never settle down with a happy family he had once dreamed of, to never stand to watch the children he had fathered grow up with smiles on their faces. It was the reason he wished to vainly make up for the apparent loss of _A World of Smiles_. And perhaps it was the reason he had burdened himself with the title he had hated so much; Hero.

The Hero would always come to the rescue. But when that Hero was in danger himself, who would save him? When he refused to show his own pain and suffering, how could anyone ever come to his rescue if he wouldn't dare as much utter a single cry for help to the loving arms of the people he always turned his back to? The burden of Hero had come to cripple him in time, leaving him to eventually lose the strength to fight that demonic Magic God in his final moments.

Well, not this time. While others had journeyed to the past to help their father grow stronger to defeat The God of Ruin, Toka had come with her own plan in mind. To help lessen that burden on his shoulders, so he could finally relax and live the life he had always asked for. The simple, normal, average life that he truly deserved.

Toka wasn't an all powerful Esper. She didn't understand Magic, nor could she perform it. She was no Gemstone. And she didn't wield some legendary weapon to combat against godly forces. She was like her father, just an average girl. The only thing that she could attribute to as a gift would be her reflexes, something she liked to believe she had inherited from her father that were reminiscent of Precognition; a naturally born sixth sense to danger.

Her lack of any real power did little to discourage her though. Toka would still clench her fists. Just as her father had done many, many times before. Even now, she was positive Touma was suffering under the title of hero, most likely running towards the center of all the chaos, tired, beaten, wounded, and still fighting.

 _'This time, you'll be facing my back, Tou-san. So, please, don't push yourself anymore than you've already have. I don't want the real first meeting with you to be to your broken body.'_

Toka had seen that image before, if only once. To the sight of her beloved father, her role model, standing triumphantly over the shattered illusion of a lost soul. His body was stained in red blotches, his skin torn apart, his face bruised, with his right arm broken in several place. And despite it all, Touma wore a proud smile, happy he had once again saved the world belonging to one stranger.

Eyes narrowing, Toka swore to herself that she wouldn't have to see that again. Not this time.

* * *

"Here we are."

After nearly half an hour, the party consisting of Hamazura, Toka, Angela, and Index had reached District 10's main nuclear reactor, The Hoshi Nuclear Reactor Facility. Carefully resting the still unconscious Hana in the back seat, the three stepped out. True to its title as the main reactor, the facility was large and towered over them, displaying a long reaching shadow thanks to the sun's position overhead. The facility was composed of several rectangular gray buildings at the center, with several cooling towers continuously bellowing clouds of water vapor. At the front of the facility was a security clearance gate, meant to clear all those who entered and stop any unwanted attention or threats from breaching their security. And ahead of that was a flight of stairs that lead up to the entrance of the main building.

But the scene they had found betrayed the expectations of the security force meant to maintain control. The security gate was completely destroyed, seeming to have suffered under some kind of unstoppable force plowing right through it like a wrecking ball. As they passed the remains of the gate, they walked in to discover a blood stained scene.

At the front of the building, they found countless Skill-Outs and security personnel strewn about, covered in wounds, unresponsive in the after math of the fighting that had taken place. Bullet shells, empty fire arms, knives, rubble, and plenty of blood stained the ground. It was hard to say from just a look who was alive and who was still breathing.

Angela held her hand over her mouth, finding herself taken back by the bloodshed. The scene was just horrific. She shut her eyes, swallowing the grief of all those who have perished in pointless violence before walking ahead of the group to the nearest poor soul being welcomed to god's embrace.

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?!" Hamazura scowled, watching the dark haired nun kneel down over some random corpse.

"She's offering up a prayer, helping the poor soul to better pass on to the next life." Index remarked solemnly before following Angela's lead.

Hamazura stared at the two nuns in disbelief. Right, he almost forgot what nuns actually did. There was no need for such things here in Academy City; a city devoid of religion or gods teachings. If you were dead, you were dead. End of story. Actually seeing what those who followed the word of some make believe entity was kinda weird. It seemed pointless to waste one's time with a pile of dead flesh.

It was a strange thing to see, but Hamazura couldn't bring himself to stop them. Maybe this was a way to deal with grief? Even he couldn't help but feel bad for all those who died. Seeing all the dead bodies laying around brought a bitter taste to his mouth. The cold reality of the situation wasn't so pleasant to accept. In the end, all those who had died had died for nothing to gain.

' _Maybe this is why people fool themselves to follow religion. To find some warm comfort in an illusion than from the cruel, cold, stern world of science.'_

Believing that those who had died here would pass on to another life, a world where all their troubles were washed away, where their sins and mistakes were forgiven, and could finally rest in peace with those they had lost before them, was certainly more pleasant than the truth they all just rotted away in the dirt.

It was because of that, that Hamazura had decided to let the two nuns lay to rest those who had passed in the fighting created by some unknown party for their own selfish plans. His silence was its own prayer.

"Pffft!W-What the hell are you two bitches doing?! Are you actually offering them prayers, or some shit!? Man, cosplayer's these days really get into it, huh?"

A cruel, vicious, voice laughed at the sight of two of god's follower's lay to rest the blood painted flesh on the street of the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. Hamazura tensed, his hand going for the handgun he had picked up earlier as his eyes moved to the steps of the entrance of the security gate. He grit his teeth at the sight of six Skill-Outs wearing bullet proof vests over jackets and armored helmets with the initials GNRS. Walking in the middle of the rifled armed thugs was the leader of the gang; a teen wearing stolen Anti-Skill armor over a torn red leather jacket and soccer kleets. The teen's hair was dyed black and yellow, split down the middle of his shoulder length hair that was parted to leave his forehead free. His stormy dark eyes gazed at the two nuns standing over a dead security guard with a twisted grin and a tapping revolver against his thigh.

The grin on the Skill-Out leader's face grew wider as he found the glaring eyes of the nuns meet him back.

"Aren't you girls cute? Especially the silver haired one! The dark haired nun's got a decent pair of tits under that robe, but I've always had a thing for those girl's younger than me! Hey, how'd you sweeties wander over here of all places? It's dangerous, don't ya know?" the leader smirked, his tongue poking out to gloss over his lips, "It's your lucky day though. Why? Because Dangan-kun here will take care of you. I'm sure the boys would like to have you girls come in for some. . .fun."

"Come in for some 'fun'? Isn't that as cliché as a thug can get."

"That's Dangan for ya, always chasing after skirts with a gun on hand. I'm surprised they haven't locked your ass up yet, ya fucking creep."

The right brow of the yellow/black haired Skill-Out thug twitched. For a moment said eyes were suddenly gleeful, spying an unruly haired high school girl walk out from the side's of his vision in tattered clothes that were begging to be fully ripped apart for his leering eyes. But than he sneered, finding a shaggy head of dirty blond hair stepping into his view with a loaded pistol aimed for him.

"Hamazura, what the fuck are you doing here?" Dangan hissed as he raised his right hand, alerting the six thugs beside him to lift their guns.

Hamazura spat to the side, sneering back at the Skill-Out leader with disgust.

Dangan Chishi; Skill-Out leader of The Gunner's. A gang of Level 0s who specialized in firearms and one of the main contributors to selling firearms in District 10. The Gunners were notorious for their bloody methods of dealing with Espers, no matter if they harassed Level 0s or not. It wasn't just Espers they targeted; Anti-Skill officers, teachers, students, even fellow Level 0s; they were all targets in their eyes. In a city of science where students could learn to develop abilities of supernatural phenomenon, the gang of Level 0s believed that they could make up for their lack of ability with something just as deadly. Bullets.

And at the top of the gang was a cruel, sick, trigger happy delinquent known as Dangan Chishi. When one thought of a delinquent, one would think of a foul mouthed, dumb, Level 0 who skulked in the shadows of alleys for a lone girl on their way home. That was Dangan, a cliché of a delinquent. Except for one crucial bit. Dangan was no idiot, he was clever. As the main dealer of weapons of all kinds in District 10, he had a monopoly over the streets with his cold blooded tactics and business savvy. If it weren't for his frequent cussing, perverse nature, and hair style, you would think he was a business major.

The black and yellow haired leader was a force to be reckoned with. He ran his gang like a militia, unlike the other gangs in Skill-Out. Dangan ruled with order and smoking shells over his territory. If it weren't for the fact that his gang only cared for more their piece of territory in District 10, it was believed that he could take over the streets.

One of Skill-Outs Top Dogs stood at the entrance to the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. One that even Komaba wouldn't dare to take on recklessly.

Yet lowly little Hamazura aimed his gun at the revolver wielding delinquent with a sneer.

"So, you're part of this too? Don't tell me you gunheads are acting as security for the bastard who turned this place into a warzone. Of all the leaders of Skill-Out not affiliated with Komaba, I would have never thought that the Gunners would act as lapdogs to anyone else. I thought you were more prideful than that." Hamazura frowned.

The Gunners didn't cooperate with any of the gangs in District 10. There were partnerships, alliances, and deals made with other gangs, but the Gunners never involved themselves in such matters. They were a tight knit group that followed Dangan like well mannered soldiers and followed his orders to a T. They would only ever interact with other Level 0s as either dealers or hired guns. To see the leader of such a gang work with anyone was baffling. And alarming.

Dangan smirked, seeming to come to an understanding.

"Oh? You seem to know a little more than you should, Hamazura. It seems to me that you're under the assumption that all this fighting is the work of some outside party. Even stranger, you're here of all places in District 10; with a gun aimed between my eyes. Why, oh why, would some idiot like you waltz in where no thug would think to enter?"

When compared to the many other faction leaders of Skill-Out other than Komaba, Dangan was the smartest of all the bunch. The sharpest blade of all the thugs labeled as Ones With No Power. It didn't take him any time at all to come to the conclusion that Hamazura was here for more than just a tour of the nuclear site.

"Honestly? The only reason I'm here is because I've found myself dragged along by a couple of girls who think they can play hero out in the streets of gang territory." Hamazura stated bluntly. The comment got him a huffing glare from Toka, to which he rolled his eyes. "But if I were to have any other reason to be here other than running away, it would be to take back the Skill-Out name. We've had enough of you fake Skill-Out bastards running around the streets, fucking up everything up to the point of starting a damn gang war! Plus, now that I see you here, it's become kinda personal." Hamazura viciously grinned.

He still remembered the scene that triggered the first official response from Skill-Out; the sight of finding several of his comrades in a bullet riddled alley like blood soaked chunks of swiss cheese. Corpses full of holes like they were used as dummies by trigger crazed gun fanatics. A common calling card of the Gunner's victims.

The bastard was either the one directly responsible for the death of his friends, or the reason.

"You've been hitting up our boys, haven't ya, you fuck!"

A maniac grin spread across Dangan's face. That was all the confirmation Hamazura needed as he fixed the aim of his gun onto the trigger happy Skill-Out leader.

Dangan waggled his finger with a disappointed tsk at the action, "Are you stupid? Wait, you are. I mean, even you should realize that you're surrounded by a shitload of guns. I count," the Gunner leader mused playfully, bobbing his head as if he was mentally counting, "About. . .fourteen guns aimed to slaughter you's at the drop of my hand."

A sick lump grew in Hamazura's stomach.

 _'Fourteen? But I only see seven.'_

A haunting sound brought Hamazura's eyes back to the kneeling nuns over a Skill-Out grunt. The click of a handgun. The shaggy blond's breath got caught in his throat as he looked over to find the raven haired nun's stunned eyes staring back at him. . .with a standard Anti-Skill pistol pressed against the side of her face. Courtesy of the supposed dead Skill-Out grunt she had been caring for. The older holy sister was frozen still by the action, unable to even glance at the cruelly smirking delinquent who seemed to be more than ready to pull the trigger at the drop of a pin.

The Skill-Out corpse wasn't the only one to be playing possum. Rising up from the pile of corpses littered among the front entrance to the Hoshi Reactor, six other Gunner's stood back up with guns trained on Hamazura and the girls. Fourteen barrels, all loaded with skull piercing rounds, now cornered the three intruders like pigs in a slaughter house.

Seeing the completely shocked expressions on the faces of his targets, Dangan couldn't help but sigh dramatically. Honestly, what did they expect? Did these idiots really believe it would be so easy to step into an overrun facility? Didn't they think it had been odd that there had been no one standing guard, or strange that a barricade hadn't been formed to stop anyone from entering? Anyone could see that it had been a set up.

Mila had said that despite having taking control of the building, they had to take caution and guard the entrance. Apparently she had gotten word of a small unknown party that might cause them trouble; a hint that she had been handed by the silent and menacing red suited mercenary, Deadlock. So, Dangan had set up a little trap. It was common for any normal person to turn their eyes from corpses, no one would think twice about getting near one. Hiding a few of his men among the dead, Dangan had planned to lure them into an ambush and, after relaying what the intruders looked like to Deadlock over his mic, would then proceed to either shoot them down or pass.

He wasn't sure why, but Deadlock had informed Dangan to notify him if the intruder that would come by had spiky black hair, a plain face, and was covered in burns. Other than the burns on the mystery man, the Gunner's leader didn't have much to go on. He did get a name though.

If one Kamijou Touma found his way here, no matter what, they were to allow the boy to enter without a fight. This was a secret order, one that Mila, their boss, didn't even know about. And if Dangan were to so much as scratch this Kamijou Touma, Deadlock himself would show him what exactly would happen to a human body when stabbed in the chest with a pile bunker and detonated.

None of the three cornered by Gunner's fit the description. Just two nuns, and a common delinquent under Komaba Ritoku's command. Which of course meant Dangan was more than free to eliminate the intruders.

Dangan smirked mischievously with his eyes falling solely on the two nuns. Well, eliminate one. He was positive no one would mind if he indulged in a vice or two.

"I'm not sure what your plan was for infiltrating this place with nuns of all people watching your six, but whatever it was, it ends here. I have no reason to speak to you any longer than I am, you're just another coward hiding behind the big, bad, Komaba's shadow for protection. Just a common Level 0 who thinks they should uphold some kind of honor and rules in a lawless district. Really, who the fuck are you righteous dumb asses kidding?" Dangan snorted before his leering eyes returned to Angela and Index, "It's because of that gorilla faced idiot that we can't even have any fun with those lower Level Espers! I mean, come one! After all the crap they put us Level 0s through, don't you think it's fair that we have our own just desserts? If some fire chucking chick attacks us, can't I enjoy myself with that arrogant bitches mouthy lips; I got to shut her up somehow! Why not make it fun!?"

It was Komaba Ritoku who had forbid prostitution, drug dealing, and other twisted crimes from taking place in District 10. It was an iron clad rule. Breaking it in any way would see the full, personal wrath of the leader among a majority of Skill-Out. Even those not affiliated with Komaba were warned that if he were to catch wind of such activity in his streets, he would bring the full force of his authority and power down on them. Only a few factions had ever dared to test him. Those factions no longer existed.

The most vocal about his displeasure and all but contempt of said rules was Dangan. The leader of the Gunners was a degenerate, he knew that. What did they expect from a thug? Of course he wanted to abuse his authority and command to have his way with whatever pretty girls he laid eyes on. He wasn't a criminal for nothing. They all were! And yet, that righteous bastard forbid them from acting like criminals because they were apparently better than that? What horse shit! They stole, they killed, they kidnapped, they harassed, and threatened! Yet things such as molestation and drug dealing were no-no's? How did that make sense?!

Such rules were annoying and unfair. So, of course Dangan regularly broke them in the shadows of darkness. And many knew that. But where was the proof? Komaba couldn't just storm his territory on speculation and rumors alone. The thug was too righteous for his own good, not to mention such an attack would cause a war between the two factions. Dangan was always careful to never leave any witnesses when he had his fill. It was amazing what some drugs, recordings, and bullets could let you get away with.

But such rules really didn't matter now, did they? The streets were full of Skill-Out factions fighting another, all thanks to Mila's manipulations. Not even Komaba could quell all the chaos. Which meant Dangan could freely indulge in his fun ventures with whatever girls he pleased.

 _'Y-You. . .fucking piece of shit!'_

Hamazura's expression was livid with repulsive anger. He, like many other Skill-Outs, knew of Dangan's habit of sexually abusing girls. It didn't even matter if they had abilities, that sick bastard would have his way with whoever caught his fancy. But thanks to this loyal followers, his crimes were always cleaned up without any evidence. Those who suffered at his hands were either dead, or fallen silent due to blackmail. After all, what girl would say anything when the bastard could easily upload their shame, with some edits, to the internet for all to see?

Without a doubt, the Gunner's leader was the worst of the bunch. And now he had his twisted heart set on Angela and Index.

"If you so much as touch them, I'LL FUCKING-!"

"What? Kill me?" Dangan said flatly before stepping down the steps to met the raging shaggy blond, face to face, "I know you're not that stupid, Hamazura. Take a look around you. I say the word, you die. There are no Ifs, no Buts, no Maybes; you're dead. D. E. A. D. Fucking, DEAD. The girls on the other hand," Dangan grinned cruelly, causing Index's face to go white and tremble in fear, "I'll keep safe. The high school chick can be dropped off as an offering to my boys for all their hard work, but the Sisters are mine! I always fantasized about being blown by nuns after all!" he laughed perversely.

The situation was hopeless. With so many guns locked onto them, it was impossible to so much as dodge one bullet. At a single gesture, Hamazura was dead. And the girls, a fate that some would say was worse than death. Even Toka, who wished more than anything to charge ahead and break Dangan's face in, found herself trembling in fear of the sick grin on the black/blond leader's leering face. Despite facing off with an Esper/Magician hybrid a half hour ago, not even her natural born reflexes could save her from a storm of bullets from all directions.

They were all gripped by a sick sense of anxiety and fear. But among those four, one of them was strangely quiet.

Angela's face was calm, betraying no other emotion other than a peaceful serenity as she held an odd stone tablet no bigger than the size of her palm in her right hand. The tablet seemed brittle, as if if the slightest of pressure could shatter it into pieces and was engraved with Hebrew writing. The writing on the tablet began to glow with a soft, brilliant light, catching Dangan's attention. The Gunner's leader scowled in suspicion. Was the nun an ability user?

" _ **As God's Loyal Subject, I Offer My Faith and Purity To Thy Lord! I Call Upon The Ten Sayings of God; Decalogue, Commandment #6: Though Shall Not Kill!**_ "

A mystifying pulse of light blue energy expanded from Angela's body, spreading far and wide among those around her. Dangan grew startled at the strange light harmlessly passing his body. What the hell was that?! Was that an ability? If so, what did it do? The Gunner leader began to feel around his body, searching for some kind of effect the light had done to him.

"Hamazura! Shoot to harm, not kill! Trust me!"

Panic struck Dangan, cursing as he realized he dropped his guard for a moment. Forgetting whatever the raven haired nun had done, he set his revolver's sights back onto Hamazura as the shaggy blond fired a single shot. The bullet pierced Dangan's left shoulder, releasing a gushing spurt of red that nearly dropped him to his knees.

"FUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!"

A seething fury consumed Dangan's being. That fucking, useless, pathetic, coward of a Level 0! He was dead!

"STOP STANDING THERE LIKE RETARDS, AND KILL HIM ALREADY!" Dangan roared with a red face.

Snapped out of their stupors, the fourteen Gunners didn't waste another second and pulled their triggers, all aim focused directly on the sweating blond delinquent.

But the moment the fingers of those grunts squeezed the trigger, they were all struck down by a powerful force of nature that shouldn't have been possible on such a cloudless day.

White lightning fell directly from the sky like a pure sparking strand. Fourteen strands dropped onto the Gunners in straight thin lines, causing them all to convulse on the spot. Despite lightning hitting the delinquents, no burns could be seen forming on their skin as they all wordlessly screamed. The rifles in their hands fell to the ground, untouched by the lightning as the Gunner grunts followed in suite.

Both Dangan and Hamazura gaped at the sheer absurdity they had witnessed. Lightning, of all things, fell down from the sky like hammers. What the hell was that about! How did that even happen? Snapping out of it, Dangan took advantage of Hamazura's own shock to pistol whip the blond viciously. Hamazura nearly blacked out as the blow struck the side of his head, sending him falling back from the Gunner's leader with a bloody bruise as he groaned weakly.

The only ones to understand what happened were Toka and Index. Toka by now knew when something Magic related occurred, she had learned enough from traveling alongside a woman who was a literal index of magic. And as a devote Christian and the holder of thousands of grimoires, Index knew exactly what had happened and why.

"Divine Punishment." Index whispered in awe, having analyzed the effects and spell quickly. Even after seeing it once, she had broken down the new spell, one that was heavily influenced by the church, "Ten Sayings, Decalogue, Commandment #6. The spell is based on one of The Ten Commandments handed down by God to Moses. By enacting the spell, it creates a wide range of God's Law that can't be broken. To do so will call down Divine Punishment onto those who break the law in the area of effect."

Such a spell radiated an insane amount of magic to pull off. Any normal magician would be down to their knees in exhaustion after casting it. And yet Angela only displayed a light gasp, as if she had just gone for a light jog. One would need to have to have a magic reserve comparable to a. . .

Index's eyes slowly grew wide in realization.

The serene presence. The holy aura she had just displayed. The lack of fear of being surrounded by guns that would kill any normal human, Esper, and Magician. And the fact she had cast a spell that only those who were of pure status and divinity could ever hope to pull off. One word came to mind, one she had never thought to put together with her fellow Sister.

"Saint."

Dangan raised his revolver up with a shaken grip, locked solely now on the lightly panting raven haired nun. What he had just seen couldn't be explained with science. Could what he had just seen be called an ability?! He had dealt with enough Espers to know the tell tale signs of an ability user, enough to even spy what their attribute was. But what he had seen. . .he couldn't explain it!

"What did you do!?" Dangan spat in a mixture of anger and confusion before firing a single shot.

Unlike before though, no divine punishment struck. Not that it needed to.

Unbelievably, Angela didn't so much as flinch as she titled her head to the side. The bullet didn't so much as graze her as she glared intently at the seething delinquent leader.

To call upon a single Commandment came with limits. One of which was that only a single one could be activated at a time. The others couldn't see it, but one of the commandments written on the mini tablet that used Idol Theory to imitate the original tablet had vanished. Each commandment acted in a way to a bullet, each was one use, she had ten 'bullets', and each drained a large chunk of magic that would normally render a normal magician useless. Angela couldn't help but smile softly, having heard the amazed whisper from her future mother.

Saint, those who were born in the image of The Son of God. People who possessed super human reflexes, strength, speed, sight, and durability, among a large reservoir of mana. In this timeline, there were as many as twenty Saints roaming the earth; the most famous being Kanzaki Kaori and William Orwill. But in the future, that number had grown. Kinda.

In a way, Index was right. Angela was something akin to a Saint. She had all the characteristics that would be attributed to a Saint. But she had possessed a weakness. And she was suffering it at the moment.

Shakily, Angela stood back up on her feet, stumbling slightly as her breathing grew more heavy. She narrowed her gaze at the frustrated gang leader, her right fist cracking as she could still make out the lust in his brown eyes at the sight of her chest moving up with every breath.

Unlike the many other Saints, Angela had been born with a weak constitution; her body was weaker than others. Though her body was born similarly to that of The Son of God, it was frail none the less. Her frail body coupled with a Saint's blessed attributes created an odd balance that helped to stabilize her body like a normal persons, so long as she didn't stress the balance. Using even a fraction of her saintly strength or magic would have harmful effects. It was as if she was a cracked glass full to the brim with water. The most she could perform were healing spells and even those could be a bit draining. The entire ride over, she had been resting and recovering from healing Toka, Hamazura, and Hana's wounds. She didn't even have enough strength to heal herself. Even now, she grimaced as the wound hidden beneath her robe, dealt by Hana's tendril crossed with both Magic and AIM, had struck. To call her an honest to god Saint was a bit of a stretch.

Even so, she wouldn't fall back and run. Like Toka, like Hana, like all of her siblings, she too possessed her father's blood.

"Do you think you can just do whatever you want to girls, just because you have a gun in their face? Do you really think that you can go unpunished, under the eyes of god, for such disgusting, vile, repulsive lust?!" Angela spat.

Dangan nearly snorted with laughter despite the bullet wound. A guy like him who regularly killed with bullets knew how to grit his teeth.

"God? Aren't you taking that cosplay of yours a little too seriously? This is Academy City! God doesn't exist here! What the fuck do I have to fear? Is that imaginary friend of yours going to stop me from doing this!?"

Dangan delivered a powerful kick into Hamazura's stomach as the boy remained on the street in pain. A wheeze of pain was heard as Dangan dug his feet deeper into the Level 0's stomach.

"Get real, bitch! There's no such thing as karma, divine punishment, justice, or any of that weak shit! I can feel up your tits, I can rip off your sexy little robes, I can make you and those little friends of yours go down on your knees and suck me off, and I won't get punished! Not as long as I don't get caught. After I'm done using you girls until I'm bored, I can kill you, and suffer no consequences! The only god here to judge your fate at this moment is me!"

 **BAM!**

A deranged grin came to Dangan's lips as he shot another bullet. But it wasn't aimed at either Hamazura or Angela.

Toka's eyes watered, fighting with all her strength not to cry out in pain as she fell onto her side from behind Dangan's back. Her left leg had been shot cleanly through, knocking her down as she had tried to launch a sneak attack on the gang leader while he had focused on her holy sister. She had failed though and suffered.

"Naughty, naughty~!" The black/blond haired Gunner leader sang with a lick of his lip, "No sneaking around, bitch! Just for that, I'm going to make you watch as I break in those two nuns. Let's see what that god of yours does then! That begs a question, doesn't it? If a girl keeps screaming, crying, sobbing for me to stop, does it count as a sound if no one hears!? Does it even count as a prayer if no one bothers to answer!?" he roared with laughter.

"You're wrong! Men like you, sinners like you, will always be punished!"

Dangan moved his head to the side, his eyes now falling on the silver haired sister who was hidden behind Angela. A vile, sick, gleeful smile grew at the sight of the pure faced maiden.

"Oh, little Sister-chan! I almost forgot about you! You seem to be a devote one, aren't ya? So young, so naive, so helpless. Yes, I think you'll be the first one. After I deal with all these idiots, I'll start with you. I'll make you beg for it at first, with a loaded gun to your friends face, and make you worship me. Don't worry though, even after I break you to a babbling mess, I'll keep you. I'll be your savior, your god, and you'll kneel before me everyday like the good little girl that you are."

Angela's expression became livid, her anger only reaching the breaking point as Dangan fantasized about the sick acts he was wishing to inflict on her mother with a moan.

"Oh~! I hope to god, you're a screamer!"

It happened in an instant.

Dangan didn't even have time to register the pain from the right fist popping into his face. The knuckles dug into his nose, crushing the cartilage and causing blood to gush out like a bursting pipeline. The inhuman speed and strength that was thrown his way sent his body flying back like a cannonball to crash against the steps leading up to the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. The impact created a crater around Dangan along with a cloud of rubble falling around him. A gurgled groan fell out his lips as he laid in the crater, his body mangled by the pure force of a superhuman punch by a nun. It was a miracle he was still conscious.

"Consider this divine punishment."

Walking over to the crater against the steps where the Gunner laid, Angela's stared coldly at the blood face caked boy with the glowing stone tablet held in her right hand. Dangan's glared back with what little strength he still had at the nun.

"It may have been too late for others, but you will not touch a hair on that girl's head. It's true, often time prayers are not heard, for there are far too many poor souls in need of saving, but that's alright. Eventually, someone will hear their prayer. I know for a fact of one man, one normal man, without any power, who will always hear the prayer or cry of one in need."

Despite the threatening girl over him, Dangan snickered weakly.

"What are you babbling? I've done what I've done plenty of times. No one's prayers have been heard. I still got away with it!"

"But those countless prayers were heard now, and answered. The prayers wishing for you to be stopped, to be punished, were heard and answered. In the end, sinners like you will always, undoubtedly, be punished by god."

Dangan roared with laughter, spitting blood in the face of the raven nun.

"What shit! Who cares if I'm punished?! I've still broken girls, I've still killed, I've still robbed, and I've gotten away with it! You're fucking god is deaf to ignore me this long. Hell, I'm the only god to those girls and idiots I've killed! If you think a little love tap is enough punishment for all that I've done, than you're even stupider than I thought! If all that equates to punishment, WHERE IS YOUR GOD WITH HIS SENTENCE!?"

"That makes five."

Dangan blinked.

"Wha-!"

From the sky, a great shriek of blinding white lightning fell like a strand of hair to drop onto Dangan's body, delivering the long awaited Divine Punishment from above. A wordless scream of utter agony devoured every nerve of the Gunner's leader, causing his body to flail around like a rag doll. Unlike before, it didn't stop there. Four more strands of Divine Punishment were dropped like hammers, multiplying the suffering to even greater lengths. Through it all, Dangan's didn't lose consciousness.

Eventually the acts of Divine Punishment ceased. Leaving the wretched, sick, gang leader staring up into the sky with eyes wide like plates, expressing a mute agony and a soundless groan that went on and on. Even now, he wasn't allowed the grace of unconsciousness.

That made five Commandments cast and broken. Angela breathed a shaky sigh of relief as her vision grew spots. In total that made five casts of her Ten Commandments. As the Ten Sayings vanished from her mini tablet, Angela stepped back from the punished leader with a wobble in her step. Having used such powerful spells with her condition, it was a wonder she hadn't passed out. Her legs were weak though, which explained why she began to fall back.

"Angela!"

"I got her!"

Before Angela's body could hit the street, Hamazura stood back up and caught the older sister in his arms with a wince. His head was still ringing, but he shook it off as best he could as he helped Angela stand on her feet.

Angela smiled gratefully at the shaggy blond, patting the side of his head gently where his face was horribly bruised.

"Thank you, Hamazura-san."

Hamazura smiled back.

"You know, you're a lot tougher than I expected, Sister-chan."

Gaining some help to walk straight, she urged Hamazura over to Toka. She frowned sadly, her eyes locked onto the blood seeping in a puddle around the high school girl's legs. If she had acted quicker, her sister wouldn't have been injured by a perverse heathen. The brave face her younger sister was sending her was an obvious front to ease Angela's worry. The stubborn pride of refusing to reveal pain was a trait just about every child of one Kamijou Touma had in them.

Though she was suffering from exhaustion, Angela knelt down and raised her palms over the horrid gaping wound running with blood. A heavenly emerald glow coated her hands and worked to knit the flesh together before everyone's eyes.

Hamazura was dumbfounded as he watched the bullet wound crippling the unruly haired high school girl's leg begin to close up. Just what kind of Esper ability was he seeing? None of what he had seen Angela do fit any of the attributes studied in Academy City. So far, he had seen the raven holy Sister summon strands of lightning onto multiple opponents, punch a gang leader like some kind of mini superman, react quick enough to evade a bullet to the face, and heal grievous wounds. He knew he wasn't the brightest Level 0 in a district full of powerless Espers, but he was positive that not even those pompous Level 5s would be able to understand how Angela could perform such abilities through scientific means.

However Angela was doing it, Hamazura was relieved to see Toka's wound treated. As the mystic light faded away, the gaping hole in her leg was reduced to nothing more than a case of scrapped flesh. The wound wasn't fully healed, but it was better than before.

"There, you should be. . .okay to stand back up. . .Toka."

"Angela!"

The raven haired nun collapsed in front of Toka as she finished with her healing spell, falling into the worried arms of her younger sister. Toka frowned at the state of Angela, finding her sister's breathing labored, her face pale and sweaty. It was as if she had been struck by some kind of illness. Toka wasn't sure she had ever seen her sister like this.

"You okay there, uh, Angela-san?" Hamazura asked, not sure of what he should do.

Angela steadied her breathing and nodded. She didn't look so good now that he got a good look at her. She looked like even the slightest push could knock her down.

"Maybe you should rest. We've only just got here and you've already taken out like fifteen thugs. I don't know how, but you knocked them out. You should hang back and leave the rest to us-"

"NO!"

Gathering her strength, Angela stubbornly pushed herself off of her younger sister's chest with a labored breath. She was drained from the fight, the short exertion of her Saint abilities nearly bringing her to collapse like the many other poor lost souls caught in the middle of a gang war. It actually wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a break and regain her bearings. But every moment lost was another moment that they allowed this chaos to continue.

Steeling her resolve, the raven haired nun ignored her own injuries and began making her way into the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor. She didn't look back to see if the others followed.

This carnage could not be allowed to continue another second more. Those who went against god's teachings could not be allowed to go unpunished. And those cries drowned in the sea or roaring violence could not be ignored any longer! Within this building of science that opposed god's nature, the source of all this suffering calmly stood and manipulated these misguided souls to go against another. And for what? For the means of a sinner who viewed the lives of these rough, misguided lambs as nothing more than tools?

Someone had to stop this needless spread of cruelty and blood. Sadly, it didn't appear as the hero could make it in time. That was alright. Angela knew that her father was not at fault for allowing this gang war to erupt over District 10. Kamijou Touma was just a high school boy. He was not omnipotent. Not even he could be there for every tragedy. And that was fine, this world was full of other heroes too to help relieve the pressure of such a title.

At the top of the steps leading towards the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, Angela's legs wobbled, her body still weakened from tapping into her saintly strength. She shut her eyes as her body fell back to meet the many stairs behind her.

"Damn it, be careful!"

But before the weakest Saint's body could fall and tumble down the many steps below, she felt two strong arms catch her. Weakly, she opened her eyes to the sight of an exasperated shaggy blond haired delinquent who held her as gingerly as possible against his chest. Hamazura didn't appear happy to see her pushing herself.

"Geez, what are ya? A glass cannon? If you're feeling worn out, don't go charging in like an idiot! You're going to give idiot's like me a bad name, because even I know better, Sister-chan!" Hamazura grumbled.

Helping the visibly tired ebony nun back up, Hamazura kept an arm on Angela's shoulder as Toka and Index joined them at the top. Both girls looked at Angela with worry, more so Index. The keeper of more than a thousand forbidden magical texts wasn't happy with how her fellow Sister of the cloth was running ahead without a care for her fatigued state. The attitude, the expression in her eyes, it reminded her all too well of a certain spiky haired boy.

"He's right, Angela. You shouldn't push yourself so hard! Out of all of us, you're the one most injured! You haven't even healed your own wounds yet!" Index lectured, earning the young nun a sheepish smile from the older nun.

Seriously! That kind of attitude was far too similar to Touma's!

Toka nodded in agreement, taking the chance to take Angela off of Hamazura's hands and repay the favor from before. Ignoring her older sister's protest, the unruly haired high school girl carried Angela on her back, piggy back style. She grinned back at the stubborn pout on Angela's face.

"Don't give me that look. You're always getting on all our cases since the moment you met everyone, not to run off like our father. If you didn't realize it, you were acting just like Tou-san does right now. Take a breather, Angela-onee-chan! We still got a lot more ahead of us, so don't go wasting your energy on one mini-boss!"

As much as Angela wanted to protest, she sighed reluctantly. That was all the answer Toka needed to continue on ahead with Index. She blinked, noticing someone was missing. Turning around, she found Hamazura staring away from them and scratching the back of his head.

"Hamazura-san? You coming?"

For a good few moments, Hamazura didn't say anything back, seeming to be stuck between some decision. Sighing grudgingly, he glanced back with a strained smile on his lips.

"Yeah, I'll be right ahead of you girls. I just. . .need to leave a quick message to a friend of mine. Is that alright?"

Toka frowned slightly, but found no reason to stop the blond delinquent.

"That's fine, but hurry up! We're going to go ahead and see if we can find a map of some kind. Don' t take too long!"

Waiting for the girls footsteps to fade away, Hamazura finally dropped his smile. His eyes narrowed with a cold expression adopting his face. The handgun on hand was lowered as he slowly walked back down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom at the crater where a certain black and yellow haired Gunner leader rested. Dangan's laid motionless, his eyes empty as he continued to stare at the sky. It seemed the boy was now resting, the odd ability that had been hurting him finally fading away.

Dangan was far too tired to get back up or even utter a word; let alone do a thing about the rifle picked up and pressed firmly on his forehead.

This was a Skill-Out matter. There was no need for those girls to get involved with their affairs, at least not these kind. Hamazura didn't have words to say to the scum who didn't even have the strength to defend himself as his finger felt the trigger.

This wasn't justice. It wasn't fair. It wasn't kind. It definitely wasn't the actions of a hero, or god's punishment.

 **BANG!**

It was just another delinquent killing another delinquent.

* * *

Deep below the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, beneath the great plant that created radiating energy to supply Academy City with power, there was an unknown and closed research facility that the world above did not know exist. The facility was known only to a small team of researchers and scientists, along with two board members of Academy City's Governing Board of Directors. Funded in secret, the facility studied a very important subject to the city and its Esper Development Program. What that subject was would surprise many.

Level 0s.

Despite having created Espers, human's who could manifest extraordinary psychic abilities through a phenomenon known as Personal Realities, a large majority of it's student populace were Level 0s. To be a Level 0 was to be known as One Without Power. Though they produced an AIM Dispersion Field, a psychic energy that was instrumental in discovering one's macro universe that allowed them to manifest certain abilities, Level 0s were unable to break through the final boundary of their human limits to become something more. For that reason, many of the top most researchers were puzzled.

After all the tests, drugs, and money put into all those who attended Academy City, a large majority were still unable to become anything more than Level 0s. This became a puzzle. One that only the most curious and thoughtful researchers would ever care to study into.

One of said scientist was known as Tatsumi Orochi.

Dr. Tatsumi was Japanese researcher, enrolled into Academy City at the age of sixteen when the Power Curriculum Program had just begun. He was a smart boy, having the highest scores in his region, having enough renown to catch the eye of the rising city known as Academy City. It was during his second year in high school that he had been offered to study in the much rumored city that had helped to bring Japan back from the brink of its decline after World War II. His intellect had basically demanded he accept the offer, unless he was nothing more than idiot like the others.

And so, Tatsumi had left behind his home, his family, his friends, and ventured off to study in a city that would finally challenge his great intellect. And even become more than human. To become an Esper, a human that broke through the limitations of his species onto a higher plane.

But as the Japanese genius had come to realize not even those who held the greatest intellect could become anything more than a Level 0.

For years Tatsumi had studied, taken whatever drugs the researchers would provide him, and undergone whatever tests offered to him, to aid him to break past his lowly Level and unlock his Personal Reality. Like many others though, he failed to discover his ability and remained a Level 0 into his adult years.

And like many others, he was disappointed to discover he could never become a true Esper. It was a major hit to his ego and even intellect. Idiots, delinquents, common folk, Tatsumi could understand; but him? Why? For what reason could someone of such high intelligent fail to understand how to shed his lowly Level and gain a Personal Reality?

The question bothered him greatly. Which was why he had decided to research the odd phenomenon known as Level 0. It was a Level that border lined a regular human and an Esper. A title that spoke of being powerless despite having the potential to become strong. A Level that produced AIM, an energy created by science that no other human being in the world possessed outside of Academy City; minding Gemstones, yet failed to unlock an ability that set them apart from humans.

For the next two decades, Tatsumi had researched and studied all he could about Level 0s and the procedures and factors needed to unlock one's Personal Reality. In those decades, he became Dr. Tatsumi, he found a caring woman to love, he married, and he grew a family he dearly loved in that city that announced him as powerless.

None the less, he continued his study and became a researcher who watched over the students of Academy City. That is until he caught the eye of one Academy City's Governing Board Members. He was employed as head researcher of one of the city's power plants, granted a hidden facility deep below its foundation, and given all he needed to discover how to unravel the mystery that was Level 0.

And, on one fateful day, Dr. Tatsumi was given the most valued material of research he could ever dream of.

The Level Upper System.

Created by another researcher, it was a network that connected the minds of Espers ranging from all Levels using brainwaves to link all the individuals apart of the network to, in a way, share their AIM and their Personal Realities. The Espers themselves would find that their Levels would rise, granting them in increase in power and calculations; hence the name, Level Upper. The increase in Level was truly fascinating, but what Dr. Tatsumi had found groundbreaking was what the Level Upper had done to Level 0s.

The Level Upper System had done what years of experiments had failed for many Level 0s and unlocked their Personal Realities. A Level 0 who had been designated as powerless for years suddenly found themselves gaining an ability when using Level Upper. Though it was short lived as the loss of the network had meant the loss of their ability as well, it had proven to them that they indeed had the potential to gain that momentary power beyond human.

It was thanks to the board director who had hired him to discover how to unlock a Level 0s Personal Reality, that Dr. Tatsumi had been granted all of the Level Upper's research material. He wasn't sure he had ever been more gleeful than that day.

Years and years of research poured into Levels 0s had finally paid off. Combining his own research, among several others such as The Dark May Project's copying of brainwaves onto individuals, Five_Over's reproduction of Level 5 abilities using macro engineering, and The Misaka Network's brainwave network and synergy, Dr. Tatsumi had developed a way to allow a Level 0 to breach into their full potential. Permanently.

He called it The Level Giver. A machine that shared the AIM of ability users with a Level 0 along with their brainwaves. The Level 0 apart of the experiment would all be carefully selected based on past user's ability granted to them through the Level Upper Network. If that Level 0 had displayed the potential to gain something as simple as Telekinesis, than they would have their brainwave and AIM connected alongside an Esper who also shared the same ability. Through the experiment, The Level Giver would help to unlock that ability using macro engineering technology and allow the user to retain their Personal Reality by copying pieces of the Espers brainwaves to be ingrained in their brains.

In only days, the experiment had found success. A Level 0 had gained an ability, disconnected from the network, and retained it for twenty-four hours under observations and exams. It had marked the end of Level 0s at long last.

Than the twenty-four hours of success had passed into twenty-five. Problems had arisen.

A student had lost control. A student had been swallowed by their own aim and spat out as some. . .abomination. An other worldly beast had cried in its birth. And death had stricken.

Time and time again, Dr. Tatsumi had repeated the experiment with the same results despite the initial success. Obsession for his dream had swallowed him and blinded him of the casualties of the very students he wished to help. Each time, twenty-four hours of success had dwindled until complete failure had struck quicker than before. His experiment had begun to display a dangerous hunger and posed a threat to the students of Academy City. In the end, his dream of unlocking his own ability had been shattered. The experiment was shut down.

It had only been two days since the order had been handed down. As a consolation prize for all his work and research, the board member of the Board of Governing Directors who employed him had granted him a well paying job in that very facility he had done his experiments. Dr. Tatsumi was promoted to Head Researcher of Nuclear Energy, a nice cushy job with all the benefits he could dream of that would assure that his family would live a life of comfort for years to come.

Though he had been bitter for his all his life's work going to waste, Dr. Tatsumi had grudgingly accepted the offer. After all, he wasn't the type of character to stew in his own failures. He was at least happy to be able to provide for his family. It was then that he decided to just settle with the title of 0, and decided to focus more on what should have mattered to him all this time; family.

But it seemed others weren't so happy to settle with being a Level 0.

Dr. Tatsumi bitterly tapped away at a module displaying wall of code that only he could ever understand. He sat within a large white room, set up with rows of computers fit for at most fifteen other researchers. The room was made of an egg shell white steel, a durable metal that was designed to handle the same as a nuclear bunker. Their were only two doors within the room; one leading into the facility, and the other leading out. At the front of the room, a see through window designed to be only seen out instead of both ways was set up to view whatever went on outside the room.

As the reluctant head researcher typed away, there stood two individuals responsible for his capture behind him. The red suited boy in the Queen Diver watched him like a hawk, his arms crossed and his finger tapping along the deadly pile bunker. And to Deadlock's left stood a girl, a blonde platinum haired girl of french origin, dressed in a frilly white and blue blouse, checkered skirt, who appeared out of place among the setting they were currently in.

It was that girl, Mila Etoille, that was responsible for all the violence centered in District 10. And she was the one who forced him to once again run the Level Giver's experiment. Only under a new name.

The Level Eater. An abomination born from the wish of helping Level 0s stand on the same level as those higher than them. His failed creation.

For a moment, Dr. Tatsumi paused his fingers, stopping from entering one more key as he sighed tiredly. Mila quirked a brow, moving her hand up to signal Deadlock to settle down and keep his pile bunker steady. She gestured her head to the door leading out, to the corridor that went up another level of the facility and to the elevator that was the only way down to the hidden research facility. Deadlock grudgingly got the message, nodding stiffly before going on his way to act as he was employed and stand guard. With the threatening boy out of the room, she looked back to Dr. Tatsumi with a pleasant smile.

"Is there a problem, Dr. Tatsumi?" Mila asked sweetly with narrowed eyes.

"It won't work."

"Oh? But you yourself had proven that your machine can in fact grant even the lowliest of Level 0s an ability. I've read those classified documents as well. Your marvelous invention has done the impossible, replicating The Level Uppers ability to grant Level 0s their own Personal Reality, but on a permanent basis." Leaning her head next to the cleanly combed researcher's downtrodden face, Mila looked to him with appraise in her eyes, "You did something amazing for Level 0s like myself. With your help, we could finally stop being looked down on as failures. Isn't that a good thing? So, why do you say that it will fail?"

Dr. Tatsumi looked to Mila crossly. He wasn't sure how that girl had done it, but she knew of a project very few could ever possibly hear whispers of. It boggled him how a high school girl who looked so sweet had come into hand with his redacted data.

"You say that a character like yourself has read through my work, correct? Than you know of the project's failure. The subject in question becomes overwhelmed by the unnatural growth of AIM, consuming their body and mind. What remains is a being made purely of AIM, an After Birth of the true terror born in the moment all those Espers Personal Realities mix. The result has been the same time and again since the 'success' of the first trial." Dr. Tatsumi spat in distaste, "All we've been capable of accomplishing is the creation of an AIM Burst, a Phantom Beast that only knows to wreck havoc in its birth. Nothing has changed since then. Though you unlock your ability, you'll lose your humanity."

"My humanity?" Mila hummed pleasantly before shrugging, "Such a thing no longer matters to me." she said indifferently.

A displeased frown marred Dr. Tatsumi's face. How could such a pretty faced girl say such a thing? A person's humanity was a precious thing.

"You see, Tatsumi-san, what I have planned is nothing so pathetic as wanting an ability for myself. True, at one point in time, I would have been sobbing with tears of joy at such an experiment. The prospect of your Level Giver would have been the saving grace for someone who had simply yearned for the love of her ever high expecting parents. You would have been the one to make one hopeful little girl's prayer come true." she said wistfully, a faint smile on her lips.

To think such a thing was real. If Dr. Tatsumi had succeeded in his experiments to help Level 0s gain a Personal Reality, than Mila wouldn't have become the Child Error she was; abandoned in a godless city by her only family. But such a thing never came to pass. It was far too late for that wish to ever come true.

Those pale green eyes bore a dark plethora of raging emotions now. In her heart, a new wish had been born. One that yearned for the destruction of all that had caused her such grief and suffering.

"No, what I have planned is nothing short of revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes, revenge against those who lead me to being abandoned. Revenge against those monsters who would label a little girl as worthless. What I have planned, is nothing short of repaying the debt of suffering those cruel, cold, bastards have put me through with false promises and hope!"

Eyes cast with a sea of grief, rage, and hatred, Mila glared darkly at the grimacing researcher with a voice speaking of nothing but loathing. Seeing how she was putting the man on edge, Mila calmed down with a deep breath, her face still expressing loathing for the city that had brought her such suffering. Face still pictured with seething animosity, she smiled thinly at the man as she rested her chin on his shoulders, startling him. She caressed his finely combed hair, ignoring the shiver running through his body.

"You yourself must understand that pain as well, correct? You're a Level 0, you've been looked down on, picked on, spoke ill of, and mistreated by a city that had promised you so much more than you deserve. Though that has diminished in your adult years, you had felt it when you were young and hopeful. But this city had failed to deliver that wish of becoming an Esper, a true Esper with powers that set you aside from your peers. I'm sure those voices of doubt, want, and anguish are still there to this day, in the back of your mind."

 _'I want to be more than some Level 0.'_

 _'Why? Why haven't I advanced after all these years!?'_

 _'It's not fair! I've studied, I've worked so hard, I'm much more intelligent than them! So, why can't I gain something as small as a Level 1 ability!?'_

 _'They promised I could become an Esper! Was it all just lies?'_

 _'Was it all. . .just for nothing?'_

The clenching of Dr. Tatsumi's fists and the sight of the man inwardly biting his teeth in memory of those miserable days was all Mila needed to know she was right.

"Academy City lied to you, lured you away from home at a young age with sweet words, and experimented on your body, marking you as their property. Any regrets you had, and want to leave, were ignored as you were now their possession to do as they wished. To them, you were nothing more than a human guinea pig."

"That's. . .that's not true!"

"Oh?" Mila remarked with interest, "But you yourself know that to be true. After all, you're just another researcher like the rest of them. Lying to children, putting them through experiments for your own interests, and labeling them based on their progress. How's if feel? Telling children that their worthless to the world?" she taunted.

At this point, the creator of the Level Giver's body was visibly trembling. His eyes spoke of an indignant anger, and a glint of sorrow. It seemed felt that his captive knew just the right buttons to push. That in a way, he knew of the irony of his position as a researcher who wished nothing more to gain his own Personal Reality, only to fail and label others as 0s.

"But that's why I created the Level Giver! It's why I became a researcher! Because I knew of the pain of being labeled as One Without Power!" Dr. Tatsumi shouted in defense of his actions, "Everything I have done was so that no one had to endure the stigma of Level 0 anymore! I did it all for you! I'm. . .I'm nothing like those faceless bastards who only ever care for those with power and research material!"

"And I am ever so grateful for your progress. Even if you were far too late to be of use for one little girl's innocent wish. I'm sure those dead children who made your failures possible feel the same way." Mila spoke thinly. "None the less, your invention will be of great use to one Level 0. And you will have made a wish come true. And that wish is to make Academy City suffer for destroying the life of a Child Error."

"And how would you go about that? I told you, the Level Giver is a failure." Dr. Tatsumk chuckled hollowly with a shake of his head, "Even if your desire is to become an AIM Burst, this facility was designed to keep the entity caged within; not to mention the number of Espers connected to the Level Giver's Network is far too small to grant you an ability with enough destructive capability to pose a city wide threat."

Mila smiled brightly, a smile that would charm any boy who was caught in her gaze when facing such a beautiful girl. But to Dr. Tatsumi, he saw a smile that hid a malicious intent and desire beneath the surface.

"It doesn't matter. After all, we're not aiming for the capabilities of the Level Giver, but the Level Eater."

The name brought disgust and fury to Dr. Tatsumi's features.

"That is not what it's called! The Level Giver is a device meant to grant Level 0s a Personal Reality, to rank them up to at least Level 1! It was never meant to-"

"Devour Levels?" Mila tilted her head to the side with an innocent giggle that only infuriated the researcher, "Yes, that was it's original purpose. But due to your creation gaining a rather ravenous appetite, it had grown to consume the AIM of those connected to its network, stock piling them up, and ranking the garnered abilities all up to the border of Level 5. At least, that was the theory presented by one of the Kihara's who studied its new nature."

Kihara. The name alone would send a chill down the spine of those who understood the meaning of the name. To think one of those despicable monster who lurked in the Darkness of Academy City had gone through his own notes and research. He should have known it was a Kihara who had perverted his prized creation.

"That is what I wish to control. Not the Level Giver's miraculous gift of Personal Reality, but the Level Eater's gluttonous appetite to steal one's Personal Reality and make it their own."

Dr. Tatsumi's eyes went wide with disbelief. That was what the girl wanted to do? She wanted to control Level Eater? The sheer thought that some Level 0 even knew about the horror was mind boggling enough, but to think she believed she could use it for her own personal agenda? It was madness!

"You can't be serious! Didn't you hear me!? What the Level Giver does now is nothing but destruction! It will consume you whole! Name it whatever you will, but the result is the same none the less! There's no way to control it!"

"Until now."

"Wh-What?"

Dr. Tatsumi felt a sick knot grow in his stomach at the wide grin on the platinum haired girl's face break free. What she had just said, it couldn't possibly be true. It had only been a few days since Level Giver had been shut down. Not even the brightest of researchers or scientist could ever possibly hope to gain some semblance of control over that thing!

Seeing the disbelief, Mila couldn't help but pleasantly explain.

"You remember the cool faced gentleman who met with us, correct? Well, my dear friend, Arden, is a special kind of genius. The kind who can, in a matter of a few days, further develop your failed experiment as not the Level Giver, but the Level Eater, into a whole new beast. Even now as we speak, he is tweaking the original body of your creation to better align with my wish, with the help of his two brothers. The only reason we needed you was to allow us entry and provide the original source code to the Level Eater."

Dr. Tatsumis was speechless. He knew of the boy Mila was speaking of. The boy appeared no older than fourteen, had blond hair, fair white skin, and blue eyes. He seemed to be a boy who was raised with manners as Arden had politely greeted him and even went as far as apologizing for all the trouble they caused Dr. Tatsumi. Once they had made their way to the control room for Level Giver, the boy seemed to vanish into thin air without a word.

Rushing out of his seat, Dr. Tatsumi ignored the fact he had knocked his keyboard aside as he ran over to the window panel at the front of the room that allowed them to see what went on outside in the hangar. His face paled at what he say.

The young boy, Arden, moved in the shadows of what was once the Level Giver, seeming to tweak its original body with odd symbols that shone in the dark. Moving away from his creation, the blond boy in the white suite returned to the computer module that read back the source code for the machine. Another boy appeared next to him, leaning over his shoulder in the shadows.

"Oh, my! It seems that Arden has finished the remaining coding all on his own! That child truly is a genius, it's actually terrifying now that I think about it."

A cold sweat ran down the creator of the Level Giver's body as he looked back to Mila, finding the girl staring at the computer screen with appraise. Moving back hastily to his desk, he was baffled to see what remained of the missing code completed in a matter of minutes. How?! That source code was only known to him! How could a child, a complete stranger, complete his own code?! It should have been impossible! No amount of genius could replicate his own mind and programming!

They would have had to go inside his own mind to retrieve the code itself!

With the Original Source Code, they could rewrite Level Giver's original programming for their own means. They could transform his creation into something completely alien. And after hearing what Mila desired, and knowing what Level Giver was capable of now, Dr. Tatsum couldn't help but stare at the screen with horror.

The researcher slumped onto the seat in front of the computer, feeling drained both physically and emotionally. It only now dawned onto him the gravity of the situation. He couldn't help but feel something vile brewing in the pit of his stomach.

"Even still. . .the Level Giver doesn't posses enough power to break free from the facility." Dr. Tatsumi uttered weakly.

"True, at the moment it can only gather what AIM it can from the six Espers that were taken for the experiments."

"They're still there!?" Dr. Tatsumi shouted in alarm. He was told that the students would be returned to their dorms once the project was finished. After all the death he wrought to the others, he thought he could at least allow those remaining innocent children to walk away. Why would they still be locked down here!?

Mila shrugged, "Did you honestly think they would allow anyone to know of what was transpiring down here? They were probably left to rot in isolation. Now where was I? Oh, that's right! At the moment, Level Eater only has access to those six Espers ability, but that can change. Have you ever heard of radio waves?"

The color in Dr. Tatsumi's face was drained, leaving him ashen white as he connected the dots.

Level Giver created a network using brainwaves by both copying and pasting the wave lengths with similar AIM Diffusion Fields. Using Harumi Kiyama's Level Upper, it used a recording of the brainwave of the Administrator broken down into sound to connect others to the network. Anyone who heard the full length of the sound bit would automatically be connected to the network as a User with or without consent. If they replicated the process, they could create a new sound file and spread it through radio waves to every device in Academy City.

The network of six would no longer be hindered by how many Espers were in the facility. Hypothetically speaking, the network could grown to reach all 2.3 billion Espers who resided in Academy City. And the power gained. . .

"SYSTEM."

If Academy City had a wish of its own, it was the desire to create a being above Level 5. Level 6, SYSTEM, One Who Reaches The Heavens Without God. A human who walked on the same plane as deities.

Seeing the creator of Level Giver incapable of responding anymore, Mila turned away from the man and began making her way out. Arden was finished with his preparations it seemed. All that was left was to upload her own brainwave and break it down into a sound file. It would take some time, but she was willing to wait a bit longer for her dream to come true. The dream, the desire, the wish to turn Academy City's own wish against them. At the door leading to the Level Eater's hangar, Mila glanced back at the silent researcher. A small, sympathetic, smile came to her face.

"I do apologize for all the trouble and pain I've caused you. This is nothing against you, the other Level 0s, or even those Espers above 0; this is simply the wish of a girl who's cries had been ignored for far too long. In a way, after this is all through, the cage we've all been trapped in will no longer be there to keep us from leaving. You can be free from your status as Level 0. You will no longer be worthless."

Dr. Tatsumi didn't move from his spot, finding his eyes glued to the ceiling as he listened to the electronic steel door shut behind Mila. The man, who was himself a Level 0 too, shut his eyes as he thought back to Mila's words. He settled back against his seat with a long sigh, thinking of the events of the day that had taken him away from returning home to his simple little home. Back to his wife and his precious son who were no doubt wondering where he was.

It was true, Dr. Tatsumi had suffered under the title of zero. Back in his younger days, he been full of anxiety and stress as he worked himself to the bone to improve his level, to discover his ability, even if it all he could muster up was a Level 1 ability. He had wished for nothing more than to finally gain his own Personal Reality, to make all the hard work he had put in be worth all the crippling expectations he had. He would finally gain a stipend worth something, he could finally be recognized, he could finally be a proper Esper. That was all he had wanted to be!

Sadly, all that work had been for nothing. Dr. Tatsumi had failed to find his own Personal Reality. He had failed as an Esper. And he would never realize that dream he had worked towards with all his being.

It should have been enough to destroy him, shatter his mind, and sink him into a deep depression that there was no coming back from. It should have broken him completely.

But than Tatsumi had met her, the woman that would eventually become his wife, and later, the mother of his child. Despite being a zero with no power to show for all his studying, Tatsumi had found a glimmer of hope for something better in this world. That glimmer grew to eventually brighten his days with love and family. The simple zero had found something better than a Personal Reality. He found a loving reality all on his own, right here, in this world of science that deemed him as One Without Power.

"Worthless, huh? Could someone so worthless find something so precious and valuable in this world of if he was anything more?" Dr. Tatsumi spoke softly before finding himself shaking his head with a chuckle.

It was this unfair world created by Academy City's System that had eventually led to where he was today. For all its mistakes and failings, he had still found happiness in that world.

In a way, he had found value all on his own while being deemed powerless.

* * *

After making their way through Skill-Out after Skill-Out, Hamazura and the girls had finally made it safely through the Hoshi Reactor Facility. It seemed the Gunner's leader wasn't an idiot and had made sure to spread the rest of his men to guard the facility from within. Facing even more delinquents armed with several kinds of firearms eager to riddle them with holes, the party consisting of two Nuns, a common Delinquent, and a High School Girl, had to once again fight. It was difficult, but with the help of Angela who had regained some strength, they had dealt with just about every gun toting thug in their way.

Reaching the bottom step of the long staircase, the dirty blond found himself panting tiredly as he rested his hands on his knees. So many steps! Who the hell thought to make that many steps! He stopped counting after fifty.

Suddenly wincing, Hamazura held his right hand over his left shoulder, his fingers painted with red due to one of the bullets fired by the fake Skill-Outs leaving a nasty graze. He was lucky not to have been riddled by bullets. It was only thanks to Angela that he wasn't another dead body like the ones outside.

Speaking of the raven haired, mature nun.

"How's she doing?"

Toka sighed in slight annoyance, finding herself returning the favor to Angela as she carried the older nun on her back again. This entire day was just full of piggy back rides. Her sister was forced to rest back on Toka's back after overdoing it on their last encounter with Skill-Out which had earned them the location to the boss's hideout. From what Index had told her, it was a case of exhaustion coupled with some kind of magical withdraw. All those spells Angela had been throwing around were apparently too much for her to handle, draining her of her stamina, not to mention she had been suffering from her own wounds. Wounds that she had been ignoring. This entire time she had been focusing all her healing magic on everyone else.

 _'And they say I take a lot after Tou-san?'_ Toka couldn't help but think in amusement.

Angela pouted tiredly at the looks of concern pointed at her.

"I said I'm fine! I'm just a little tired is all." Angela grumbled.

"You collapsed and fell on your face while we were facing five thugs with sub machine guns. You looked like you were going to puke." Hamazura said bluntly, further causing the raven nun to pout like a child.

If it wasn't for the distraction that was a nun of all things dropping on her face with her ass up in the air, Hamazura wouldn't have had the chance to take the bastards out who found themselves staring at the girl. At the memory, blood began to run down his nose, earning him glares from the girls.

"Pervert."

"Lustful heathen."

"Do you want to be treated to the Touma Treatment?"

What the hell was the Touma Treatment? And was the little silver haired nun's teeth always so sharp looking?

Wiping his nose of the blood, Hamazura faced the other way to the locked door to the level leading to their final challenge. The Level 0 suddenly felt nervous as he began to pick the lock, happy that it wasn't anything as fancy as a computer lock.

This was it. Further ahead this door they would meet the bastard who created the war between all the Skill-Out factions, the one responsible for the death of some of his friends. Just who was it that was responsible for all this mess? And what would await them to stop them from taking the bastard out? It was only now that Hamazura realized how outmatched they were. Other than Angela who appeared to have some weird ability, they didn't posses any kind of advantage or skill. Toka had told him that what he had seen before as she fought the electromaster wasn't due to her Personal Reality, but her reflexes. Like him, she was a Level 0. Which meant without Angela's help, they wouldn't stand a change against whatever security the boss would undoubtedly have guarding them.

Just what the hell had he been thinking? Hamazura wasn't cut out for this. He was just some thug! What the hell had gotten into him, making him believe he could march into the mastermind's lair and take him out? He wasn't some main character, he was the lowly grunt for crying out loud! Not even some petty revenge was worth putting his life at risk!

Originally, he had been dragged along by the three girls behind him because he had been too injured to stop them. They had healed his wounds and asked that they drive them to the main nuclear reactor in District 10. Hamazura knew the way, so he had agreed not only to pay them back for saving his life, but to confirm that the bastard who caused the war on the streets resided there. Than Komaba would just need to assemble the rest of the true Skill-Outs to storm the place and make that bastard pay for all the spilled blood. He had also hoped to get a good hit on the mastermind's face while he was at it.

But Dangan had than showed his ugly face and Hamazura had found several guns aimed on him. It was only thanks to the dark haired nun that he had been saved. Again. And for some reason, even after showing the girls to their destination, and sending Komaba the location of where the chaos was centered, Hamazura, found himself following along with the girls despite the fact his job in this story was over.

Why? Why the fuck was he still here? Why the hell was he risking life!? Couldn't he just run away now? No one would stop him; right?

"Hamazura, are you alright?"

The unkempt blond flinched, finding Toka's hand resting on his right shoulder. He looked back, finding his fellow Level 0 staring at him with concern on her face, as were Angela and Index. A pang of guilt hit Hamazura, realizing he had thought of leaving them behind to face whatever laid ahead.

Anxiety was gripping Hamazura's heart. It was enough to make him want to fall to his knees and start hyperventilating. He really had no right to be here. It looked like the girls had their reasons, but did he? Did a grunt like him have any reason to be here on such a big stage? Making it this far was pure luck. If it weren't for Angela and Toka's help, he would have been left behind, bleeding to death after being beaten by some out of control Esper. He. . .he didn't belong here.

"What. . .What am I doing here?"

Toka blinked, unsure of what she just heard before she found the dirty blond begin to ramble, his voice trembling as he let go of all the anxiety that had been building up.

"What am I even doing here?! I know I said I wanted to do this for revenge, to make the bastards responsible for the senseless fighting in District 10 pay with my own fists, but seriously! What the fuck am I doing here?! I'm just a grunt, a thug, a no good delinquent who found himself dragged along to some plot at the hands of some asshole who doesn't care about killing a few Level 0s! I'm nothing special, I got no power, I'm just a common thug who couldn't think of anything better to do with his time than cause trouble! I'm not some hero, some kind of chivalrous protagonist hoping to save the day out of the goodness of his heart! I'm just a lowly side character who's never seen again after one damn scene! So, what the fuck am I doing here!?"

Hamazura gripped his chest with shameful tears gathering in his eyes. It was only now did he realize why he was panicking.

 _'I. . .I don't want to die. I don't want to die like the rest of them.'_

Bodies. Bloody, disfigured, burnt, bulled littered, beaten, broken bodies flashed through Hamazura's mind to surround him. The memory of all those Level 0s he had passed, of all those friends he had met, wet with blood soaking their clothes. Those Level 0s who had died in some pointless conflict were no different than him. There was nothing remotely special that set this lowly Hamazura apart from those dead bodies, other than a heart beat.

He really was lucky to have survived after everything he went through. Hamazura had thought he was ready to die before, back when he had given up on fighting the sparking Esper. He though he had come to peace with it. The truth was, he wasn't. By a stroke of fortune, he survived. Unlike some of his friends and enemies, he was still alive. The worthless Level 0 had gone against the odds and lived. And then he found himself dragged along to some plot that had nothing to do with him, even though it had involved his home and the death of his fellow true Skill-Outs!

Hamazura could have walked away. He could have run off and found the others, taken shelter, and lived to struggle another day as a Level 0. But instead, he was throwing his life away to fight a fight he really didn't want. Fuck revenge! Something as stupid as that didn't matter anymore.

He. . .he. . .he just wanted to live.

A bitter smile fell over Hamazura's face. How pathetic. Guess that number Academy City gave him truly fit him to a T. He was just a selfish Level 0 who would rather run for his life than fight for some just cause.

A guy like him didn't even deserve the kindness those girls had shown him.

"Does it matter?"

"Eh?"

Eyes full of shameful tears, Hamazura found himself staring at Toka again. The girl who was just like him, a Level 0, looked at him with a firm resolve, something that took him back. How could someone like her have such a face? They were the same.

Right?

"Does it matter how you got here? Does it really matter whether you belong here? Protagonist? Side Character? Who the hell gives a shit what you are?!"

The unruly high school girl grabbed onto Hamazura's jacket, pulling him off his feet as she gave the boy who would one day become an important figure in her history a piece of her mind.

Her father had taught her an important lesson long ago. That an individuals status didn't decide what one did. Toka herself had seen it. She had seen a common man in her future step up to the plate time and time again. Not out of heroism, not out of duty, not out of title, and not out of orders; but because he had felt like it. That man never wanted to find himself in that spot that had him facing off against threats bigger than the world. He was just there.

Kamijou Touma was a common man who found himself in the middle of a crisis. What he did in that situation was his own desire. And that desire was shared by others who followed after him. Such as the supposed Legendary Level 0 who had bore doubt in a Great Demon.

"Right now, you're here! Who cares what brought you here? Whether it was us dragging you along, something as stupid as revenge, or some kind of sense of justice you yourself aren't aware of! What matters now is that you're here! You're here to decide what to do with your life! Even if you're just a Level 0, you have the power and strength to decide what to do, right here, right now! Run away, hide, abandon us, betray us, fight with us, support us, protect us; it's all up to you to decide! Selfish or Just, do what your heart screams at you to do! So, here and now, decide what you want to do with your life and be proud of it!"

Hamazura felt his breath ripped away from him. Uncertainty was all he felt as he stared into the average looking girl's bold black eyes that held a strength he wasn't sure he could ever muster. Everything she had said struck a cord in his heart. Doubt clouded his thoughts, his anxiety replaced by uncertainty.

What did he want to do? Here and now, moments away from facing some bad guy who brought his district to senseless war, what did he want to do?

"I. . .I. . ."

Hamazura couldn't decide. He could only stare down at the floor with a look of shame. He couldn't dare to look back to see the girl who seemed to bring out a side of him he wasn't sure off with a face of disappointment. He couldn't see it, but Toka's face had grown gentle, seeming to come to some realization.

"It's alright. I'm sure you'll figure it out, Hamazura-san."

The lock to the door clicked, allowing Toka to grip the handle and step past the silent dirty blond. Along with Index and Angela, she went on her way to face whatever threat stood behind the door. Before she left, she patted the Level 0 with a kind smile on her face.

"Again, this is your life. I know without a doubt, that whatever you decide to do with it, is the right thing."

"H-How?"

How could she possibly know!?

"Because the glimpse of the Hamazura I've gotten to know isn't some coward, or a lowly grunt. He's just Hamazura!"

Left alone in that dark staircase, his left shoulder bleeding and dripping with blood, with a rifle that was down to its last magazine, Hamazura could only stare down at the cold floor with a question on his lips.

". . .What. . .do I want to do?"

* * *

"So, you're here? How disappointing. Who I had hoped to meet me here was that clown, not two nuns and a high school girl. Really now, what kind of scene is this to expect?"

Through several more sectors, the girls were greeted to an expansive, dark, gray concrete like space the size of a stadium. The area they stood in resembled a + made of solid stone and a circle of railways at the edge of the massive space for access, a massive gaping ventilation like hole was found in the center, and hot steam vapor lingered up above them. Angela and Index weren't sure of where they were, having little idea to such things as a nuclear facility, but Toka could take a guess where. At the moment, the must have been below one of the cooling towers.

And, standing beside the middle of the large hole, stood the scarlet Queen Diver boy; Deadlock.

The boy in the red suit fitted with countless roller blades sighed in disappointment at the sight of the three girls. And here he had prepped himself up for nothing. When Mila had silently ordered that he leave, he had decided to wait at the last check point like area that would lead to the only elevator to the secret research facility down below. Knowing that a certain Level 0 would somehow get in his way yet again, Deadlock had waited to once again face off against that old illusion of his heart. But instead of finding that clown, he found a couple of kids playing hero.

"I thought I told you all to run away? Did that not go through your heads? Because I'm pretty sure I made it perfectly clear that I had invited Kamijou Touma, not anyone stupid enough to meddle in some stranger's affairs!" Deadlock spoke in frustration at the turn of events.

"Let's make this clear than; Leave. This stage is reserved for that shell of my own doubt that I failed to finish off. Bystanders have no right to involve themselves in matters that do not concern them!"

"When it comes down to it, we do all this for you."

Deadlock was ready to scare the girls away with a well aimed shot of his pile bunker, nothing with the intent to harm but frighten them, when he found his earlier comment fired back at him from the angrily scowling high school girl. He quirked a brow of interest, seeing the girl take a couple steps forward, showing no signs of fear or anxiety towards him.

"That's what you said, right? That all this chaos, violence, fighting, killing, destruction, and bloodshed was all for us, right?! So, if its all for us, doesn't that mean that it involves us?! That means it's alright if I decide to put my foot down and say that none of this bullshit is fine with me, right?!" Toka shouted angrily.

Deadlock continued to stare at the strange girl, finding himself feeling a sense of de ja vu. Unconsciously, his fists tightened. His eyes narrowed, feeling a sudden jolt of anxiety run through him as the girl stopped a few spaces away from him, only a simple run away from swinging that right fist of hers brought up in the moment.

 _'That pose, those eyes, that damn firm resolve!'_

Yes, it was just like that damned clown's.

The uncanny resemblance put Deadlock on edge, the common high school girl brought him back to the scene of a boy who couldn't stand down in the face of what he believed to be unjust. And it infuriated him.

"Who are you, girl?" Deadlock hissed as finished loading his weapon with a deadly click of metal.

Toka smirked, moving her arm back to gesture for Index to help Angela move further away. Angela moved to protest, but her weak condition left her with no way to fight Index who pulled her somewhere safe.

"Me? I'm no one, just your average Level 0 who's fed up with jackasses like you thinking you know what's best for us!"

Deadlock cracked his neck, feeling the last of his patience slip him by. Yes, that. . .shadow reminded him far too much of that damned clown. He couldn't help but smirk darkly as the jets on his body grew to life with a small roar of flames.

The boy who was nothing more than an illusion of Deadlock's own doubt was no where to be seen. But it seemed that a shadow had come in that clown's stead. And that was fine. A light course to enjoy before the main dish!

"I suppose you will have to do! You're certainly no hero, but you can play the understudy just fine for now!"

With a burst of flames from his back, Deadlock sped up to the girl with his pile bunker aimed to pierce right through her. The speed he was moving at was similar to a car moving at 50 miles an hour, quick enough and strong enough to kill an average person on impact. No normal human could possibly dodge such a speedy attack. The space they were fighting in didn't help her either; it was as if they were fighting in an expansive hallway that lead him straight to her.

The scarlet blur racing forward like a spear found itself hitting nothing but pure air as Toka moved her body to the left at the right moment to avoid any harm to her. A powerful gust of wind blew her unkempt hair around as she quickly spun around, knowing it was far from over with. The scarlet blur didn't stop its charge, abruptly turning around in a twisting U-turn. Toka was ready, moving to charge straight at the blur. It took Deadlock by surprise that his opponent would fall right into his attack.

He was further surprised to find the unruly high school girl vaulting over him at the last minute. He adjusted his movements, the countless wheels on his person and jets allowing him to twist around again, this time braking on the spot. Seeing the girl in the air, he fired his pile bunker's nail, aiming to skewer her through with a boom. With a fiery burst, the nail cut through the air, intent on hitting its target, only to fail as the average high school girl twirled her body to avoid the deadly shot.

Deadlock growled in frustration before attempting another blurring tackle. He watched the girl fall back to the floor, timing his charge just right to catch her off guard and leave her no time to dodge. He turned into a scarlet blur again, ready to send the girl flying.

Toka grinned, falling back with her leg flung up and descending down onto Deadlock's skull just as he came into her space with a left fist. The Queen Diver suited boy's eyes flew open in disbelief at the quick timing counter before he found his face smashed onto the floor with a boom. His thoughts were jarred for a moment before his jets roared, the wheels on his chest spinning with the jet to roll him backwards and avoid the stomp to his skull. He brought his heels down with an odd motion, braking with just the right force to bring his body upright and back on his feet with a skid.

"What, is that all ya got?! For someone who fought against Kamijou Touma, I would have thought that you could put up a better fight than this!"

Deadlock grimaced, his head ringing as he watched the unruly haired girl charge at him with a right fist ready to knock him back. He didn't have enough time to load another nail into his weapon, leaving him no choice but to fight back with close quarter's combat. His blitzing maneuver wasn't having any damn effect, the average girl's reaction time was better than he could have ever anticipated. What he needed to do was catcher her off guard for just a moment, than deliver one finishing blow.

Clenching his own fists, Deadlock intercepted Toka's fist with his own. Toka grit her teeth, feeling the scarlet suited boy slowly overpower her in their fist lock. Rearing her right fist back, she caught the boy by surprise with under handed left uppercut flying for his chin. But like Deadlock, she had forgotten about his other left hand, carrying the heavy blunt weight of a pile bunker on his arm. Deadlock's left arm swung for her left side, slamming the full weight of his weapon deep into her ribs. Toka's face grew frantic with both alarm and pain as she could feel her ribs strain from the blow.

Deadlock found himself ripped away, his body flung off his feet to fall roughly onto his back. A splitting ache erupted from the scarlet suited boy's chin that ran up his face while he moved to get back on his feet. That damn girl wasn't no slouch, she knew how to hit and hit hard. Despite looking like an average high school girl he could pick out from the streets of Academy City, she was anything than normal. No normal girl could move or fight like that!

On his feet and clutching the visor of his helmet, Deadlock spat furiously at the girl who seemed to fair no better than him.

"Why? For what reason do you have to get in me way!? You said you're a Level 0, right? Than why would you try to stop us from freeing this world from the distortions of those with nearly Absolute Power?! Aren't you fed up with being someone without any power, any strength, to move forward?!"

Toka panted heavily, her left arm wrapped around her bruised ribs with a twisted grimace. At Deadlock's words, she grinned slightly, almost mockingly.

"W-Who the hell says I don't have any power?" she said in between breaths.

Deadlock narrowed his eyes dangerously. So, the girl had been lying? Pretending to be a Level 0 so he would let his guard down. Clever. But the revelation only further infuriated him.

"You have an ability than? I must say, it does explain how you've been capable of evading my attacks so far. So, what is it? Precognition?"

Toka shook her head, her grin never dying, her face growing more amused as the scarlet suited boy guessed.

"Nope! As much as it sucks, I didn't hit the Esper lottery and gain a Personal Reality that would give me an ability. Nothing as cool as creating fire, controlling vectors, freezing the moisture in the air, or digging into someone's mind. I'm just your average Level 0-"

"Don't screw with me!" Deadlock roared furiously, taking a threatening step forward. Those damned words! He didn't want to hear the words that reminded him of some illusion that had already played him! "You said you had power! That can't be true if you're just another 0! The very definition of that Level means One With No Powers! How can you possibly have any trickle of power if you're truly just some Level 0 like the rest of us!?"

"Because I don't need some machine to tell me that I have any power!" Toka shouted back, mirroring Deadlock with a step forward while flinching as the action hurt he ribs, "So, what?! Because you're a Level 0, because you haven't awaken a Personal Reality and Ability, because a whole city labels you without 'power', you just accept that you don't have the strength to advance? Are you a fucking idiot?! You are, aren't you! You must be if you're dumb enough to think you can't do a damn thing despite how strong you are despite having no ability either!"

Deadlock snarled in rage, his jets sending him forward to close the short distance between himself and the naive girl. His rage blinded him, causing him to forgo his weapon for his trembling fists that sought only to make the girl understand her lack of power.

"Are you really a Level 0?! Even someone at Level 1 would understand how little they can truly do when their everyday life is effected by the overwhelming power of those with all the power they could ever hope for! The government stipends that force us to search for sales on a regular to eat properly, the shame of failing to gain a sign of progress for all your work, the looks of those who stare down at you, knowing you're too weak to do a thing about it! As a Level 0, than you know of the suffering they all go through! And not just them either!"

Toka quickly brought up her forearms, blocking the rain of blows from the furious boy. Her face scrunched up, her earlier wound shooting pain on her side with every knuckle rattling her around.

"Level 1s, Level 2s, Level 3s, and even Level 4s! I've seen them all suffer as well! All their progress has stopped because of those damn arrogant Level 5s have siphoned all that there is! Progress to the next Level is rare, harder to achieve at the higher Levels, making it impossible for us Level 0s to ever dream of ever gaining so much as a Level 1 ability! And do you know why? I had once thought it was because of the Level 5s, those with Super Powers whose AIM Fields create distortions for their benefits, but I realized now; It's because of this damned System Academy City has created!"

Jets roaring again from Deadlock's right side of his body, he spun on his feet like a whirlwind and lashed at Toka's already wounded ribs with his leg. The savage blow caused the unruly haired girl to gasp deeply, a wordless cry falling out her lips before she found Deadlock's pile bunker slamming into the right side of her face. Her thoughts were jarred, her vision swam, and she found it nearly impossible to speak as she swayed back from the blow. Blood grew slick on her face, splashing onto the ground as she tried to steady her feet.

Seeing an opening in Toka's guard, Deadlock locked in another nail swiftly and fired away. The Queen Diver suited boy clicked his teeth, watching the disoriented girl still find a way to dodge the blazing metal skewer just barely; suffering a gash from the passing blistering nail on her shoulder. Did the girl even know what she was doing? It was like she had handed the keys to someone else to take over the steering wheel. What he was witnessing was nothing short of Precognition.

"Even a Level 0 like you know what System is, correct? It is the goal for Academy City, to create a human who surpasses humanity, to reach the heavens without the need of gods. In the end, we're all just stepping stones for those arrogant bastards to create a human who can perform some made up being's calculations! We're just human resources who were promised money and power, only to be left with the scraps of those who they found useful to their goal. And that is where the grandest distortion is centered, the very one that created the monsters known as Level 5s, and the fault in our world. As long as System is sought out, we will all remain powerless for the creation of some nonsensical monster."

Reaching to the side of his leg were he concealed his firing nails, Deadlock tsked, finding only two left in his possession. He had been too caught up in everything to stock up on his weapon. Oh well, he wouldn't need anymore than one. And he would make sure he made this one count. He played around with the fatal metal nail, glancing back at the now tired, and wounded, anomaly of a supposed Level 0.

"When I said we do all this for you, I meant it." Deadlock stated firmly, displaying his own strong resolve, one he wouldn't let anyone break again, "What my employer plans to achieve is the downfall of the system that uses us to create a Level 6. With the System no longer achievable, we will all be free from our Levels to walk our own paths and achieve our own power. Even the monsters known as Level 5s will too be free from their shackles that distort their thoughts for power!"

Toka scowled unhappily, not liking what Deadlock was trying to say.

"You mean, you're trying to-"

Deadlock grinned, glad that the girl was beginning to understand what he was trying to do for them all.

"Eliminate the Power Curriculum Program." he gestured grandiosely with his arms spread wide, "Isn't that why we are all here, stuck without any way to progress any further in this world? It was the thought of becoming more than human, of gaining supernatural powers, of gaining greater knowledge, of being paid lavishly for our efforts, that we came to this city that traps us like their guinea pigs. Because that was what it truly comes down to; we're they're loyal, ignorant, guinea pigs to experiment with to their hearts content. With the elimination of the Esper Program, we won't have to compete against another or look down another anymore; we'll all be free of the shackles that cruelly weight us down! We'll be free to find true power, free to truly break free from the limits this city has placed onto us! Doesn't that sound better than the situation we're stuck in now?!"

"As if!"

Deadlock stumbled back from the roar of the wounded girl who didn't seem to even have the energy to stand still on her own feet anymore. Toka glared at Deadlock, her teeth openly gritting together.

"You know, my father always told me, that before I go and say my piece, I should properly listen to the others own thoughts and beliefs before speaking up my mind. And I did just that; I listened to every damn word you had to say. I listened to why you would cause so much pain and ruin to the world around you, and even got a good peek at what makes you, _You_! And honestly? What I saw and heard was complete bullshit!"

Nothing but wracking pain crawled up alongside Toka's ribs and face as she moved forward. One of her eyes was bruised, slightly shut and caked with blood. Even with her gifted senses and reflexes, she would still find herself caught off guard and suffer like anyone else. She was still after all your average high school girl. She wasn't built to soak in punishment. It would have been better for her to escape and recover than continue fighting.

But, Toka Kamijou was her father's daughter. Taking a step forward, she couldn't help but feel an odd, old, faint and comforting presence clasp her shoulder from behind and help push her on.

The Will of Kamijou Touma carried her on to do what her heart desired. And what she desired more than anything at the moment was to shut down the idiotic ramblings of a boy who could only blame others.

"Who's says we're powerless?"

Deadlock frowned, not understanding what he had just heard from the stern eyed unruly high school girl who had no place on this stage. Even though the pain and wounds she had suffered should have been more than enough to cause a normal girl like her to pass out, she merely cleaned the blood smearing her face with the back of her right hand and grit her teeth.

"Do you really think that what you're looking for can be granted without breaking through your limits? That Academy City and its system, the Level 5s, are right to blame for your whining!? What the hell do you even think 'power' is?! Tell me! Why do you want power?! What is it that you want to do so badly with the power you've failed to grasp!?"

With a renewed spring in her step, Toka ran in with a wide swing for the red suited boy's face. It was a sloppy and poorly executed attack that even someone who had never raised their fist could avoid. All Deadlock had to do was simply move a step to his right and not only would he avoid the blow, but find an opening to deal a devastating counter attack. He was more than ready to plunge the deadly, foot long nail of piercing death, into the girl's small body.

"Who the hell were you originally trying to protect in the first place?!"

Than, to his utter disbelief, he found his body fumble by the words of the dark, unruly haired girl that somehow struck a direct hit to the center of his being.

 _'Who was I. . .trying to protect?'_

The momentary confusion that shook him to his core was enough of an opening to allow that poorly swung fist to collide with his masked face. The cracks created by the hero who was nothing more than a distortion created by a Level 5 to create doubt in his heart, spread further to crawl entirely over his helmet. A piece of the visor that hid Deadock's face was chipped in that instant, breaking off to reveal a single stunned brown iris as the boy in the Queen Diver stumbled back. He blinked, not sure what happened to him as he stared at Toka. A surge of pure rage took over him.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Isn't it obvious who I'm protecting? I said it before, and I'll say it again; I do all this for you and every Esper cursed to chase after powers they can't grasp!"

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!"

Again, Deadlock found himself thrown back by the ordinary girl's simple fist. More pieces to his helmet's visor shattered to reveal more of his face, revealing his two brown eyes and light brown hair. Deadlock panted, growing more furious as he found himself on the end of barrage of fists.

"Why do you want power? Isn't it because you had originally had someone or something you had wanted to protect with all your being, but found yourself falling short of saving them? That was it, wasn't it?! Someone like you, who spouts bullshit about hitting a limit, blaming others who are stronger than them for their shortcomings, and wants to destroy the very system that failed to give him power, is nothing more than a failed hero! Isn't that right!?"

An unseen chord was struck deeply in Deadlock's core, sending chilling vibrations down to his toes.

A hazy, distorted and forgotten image flashed through his mind. The image of a boy who had wanted nothing more than to protect a friend close to him, but lacked the ability to do anything to save them.

It was a ferocious roar erupting out of his lips that he broke Toka's attack and drove his fist into her stomach. He didn't give her a chance to gasp, raising his left arm, the arm that wielding his heavy pile bunker, and slammed it onto her back as she doubled over with a gasp. Toka was slammed to the cold metal floor with a crack, her eyes flying wide open in anguish as she struggled to get back up.

The girl's senses went off, warning her to move. Toka rolled to the right, just in time to miss the deadly point of the pile bunker stabbing through her weakened spine and instead clang against the floor. She got back on her feet, breathing heavily as sweat mixed with dirt and blood on her face, keeping a safe distance from the angered Queen Diver suited boy. Her foot slipped, her thoughts growing hazy as blood continued to seep down her face as the pain in her ribs only continued to grow more intense with each passing second. She clenched her teeth, refusing to fall now.

"There was something you couldn't protect, even after all the hard work you had put into your studies and with the help of Academy City, isn't that right?" Toka said firmly.

Deadlock grit his teeth, his mind wandering to a past he no longer cared to dwell. The unruly haired high school girl's word forcibly dragged him back to those days, those days of studying like a proper student, to a time he had whole heartily believed in the curriculum the City of Science had provided him, to the hope and belief that all his his work would lead into discovering his own Personal Reality. Only to be reminded of the memory of everything he had worked for leading to failure. He was reminded of how truly powerless and hopeless it was for someone like him to ever attain an Ability no matter how much blood, sweat, tears, and effort he put in.

Long ago, all the mind numbing studying, painful after effects of experimental drugs, and pointless mind games, would have been all worth it for the ability to allow him to so much as bend a spoon. Than maybe, just maybe, he could have shattered his limits of his power to protect what he had once desired.

Once upon a time, he truly believed that it was all the fault of those Level 5's who had controlled all the power in the city, creating distortions that stood in their way of breaking through their limits. But now Deadlock could see much more clearly to who was truly to blame for everything. Academy City. SYSTEM. Abilities. In the end, the world would be much better off if all three were eliminated.

Maybe then. . .he could finally gain the power to once again protect what he truly desired within limits he could break naturally.

A hollow chuckle left Deadlock as he found himself staring up at the ever stretching ceiling and the faint clouds of vapor, "A failed hero, huh? I can't say you're wrong. All I want to do is assure that no one else has to go through the pain and suffering I had. Is that truly so wrong? To give them limits that they can all break equally no matter who they are?" he couldn't help but ask softly.

Toka's eyes were like steel, firm and determined even as she struggled past her own injuries to meet the red suited boy's now exposed hazel eyes that spoke only of all the anguish he had been through because of this world of Espers.

"You're looking for power in the wrong place, you stupid failed hero." Toka smiled gently, "Again, just what do you think power is? Do you think it's something anyone can grasp so easily? That it can just be handed down if they really, really, desire it? As if. It's not that simple or fair."

Toka stepped forward, nearly stumbling with her first few steps, her eyes seeming to glow with an odd energy even when her consciousness was growing faint, almost as if a wisp of her determination had been lit to blaze red in her right eye. Deadlock grit his teeth, growing both frustrated and confused as his own feet responded to the sight by taking in involuntary step back. Something wasn't right here. His breath hitched, his muscles tightened out of reflex, his fingers trembled, and his eyes grew frantic at what he was seeing. Why? WHY?!

Why was he seeing that damned clown's image overlapping with that common girl's like a living illusion?!

"Power only comes to those who have endured through their own powerlessness and grown to overcome it themselves with their own battered fists! It's found by those who never stop fighting, by those who don't fall to excuses and keep trying! That kind of power doesn't need an Ability or Level, anyone can break their limits to achieve the strength to clench their fists for what they believe! Just because someone labels me as a Level 0, One Without Power, doesn't mean that I have to accept it or make up some dumb ass excuse as to not try and stop bastards like you from harming others. And right here, right now, I'm going to shatter my limits, shatter your fucked up delusions, and shatter whatever plan the head boss is up to. All as your average Level 0!" Toka grinned tiredly.

"Than you'll die just another average Level 0!" Deadlock snapped viciously.

Slamming one of the last few nails in his possession into the chamber, Deadlock sped forward, aiming his pile bunker for a stabbing point blank shot. This time, he would not miss. Racing forward as a blistering blur of red death, he couldn't help but grin as he watched Toka simply raise her right fist.

That's when it happened.

Toka's eyes grew wide in puzzlement mixed with alarm as her body stumbled and began to fall. Her body had faltered, suffering far too many injuries for a normal girl like her to sustain. Even though she wanted nothing more than to keep moving, for her words to be more than lip service, her body couldn't go along with her demands. She grit her teeth in frustration as her body fell forward, her eyes locked onto the scarlet blur of approaching death.

"Toka-san!"

"Toka-chan!"

The sound of rushing footsteps too late to reach her brought Toka out of her descent into unconsciousness. Her face twitched, fighting to keep her heavy eyes lids from shutting for what would be permanently.

Damn it, not now! She couldn't go down like this! After all she had said, she couldn't just succumb to her own injuries because her body didn't want to listen to her! She'd be damned if she proved that stupid asshole right!

Deadlock grinned in victory. All talk, that was all that high school girl had been! To think he had actually been shaken by someone who had no place on this stage. Well, it would all be over soon. Only inches from reaching Toka, Deadlock sentenced the girl's death with simple pull of a trigger.

 **BANG!**

An echoing bang bounced off the wall of the storage space that surprised all those inside. A single shot had been fired. And an eruption of flames burst from Deadlock's pile driver. The scarlet suited boy wasn't sure of what to say as his pile driver went off without a hitch. But with one problem.

A perfectly well aimed bullet had been fired from the entrance into the concrete cooling tower at the exact time Deadlock had fired his pile bunker. The bullet had accurately shot past Toka's head and hit it's true mark; Deadlock's right shoulder. The force of the drilling metal shell had just enough to swerve his body to the left, completely missing Toka's face as the pile bunker's trajectory had changed to fire at the floor below them. The nail fired, hitting the floor with a metallic clink before detonating in a fiery plume of smoke and flames between Deadlock and Toka. Both teens found themselves blown back by the eruption that scorched their skins. Toka was sent rolling away with a cry of pain, hissing as she could feel the blazing burns crawling over her skin. Coughing, she tried to stand back up, only for her body to again put its foot down, causing her to weakly fall onto her side. She gasped tiredly, her eyes fluttering as she watched the smoke created from the blast begin to weaken to reveal Deadlock still on his feet.

Multiple patches of Deadlock's suit had been burned off, tears littering the scarlet fabric, blood seeped from his shot right shoulder, and the boy's left arm was now visible with the skin charred black, the pile bunker seeming to have destroyed by the close impact and explosive force. Among the loss of his deadly weapon, Deadlock's helmet had suffered more damage; chunks of the head wear had been blown right off. With a groan, Deadlock decided to get rid of the old relic of his past, tossing the ruined motorcycle's helmet off with a scowl. His face was now visible, revealing his pale skin, straight combed brown hair that reached his ears and parted to reveal a bit of his forehead, and brown eyes painted with disdain. But for once they were not aimed at her.

"W-Who the hell are you!?" Deadlock spat.

Toka was confused. Trying to once again get back on her feet, she found herself pushed back down softly by a familiar hand.

"It's alright, Toka-san. Leave it to this worthless thug to take care of the rest."

". . .Hamazura-san?"

Grinning weakly, Hamazura Shiage eased Toka back on her side. The rifle in his right hand was gripped tightly with a death grip. His posture was uneasy. And a nervous sweat coated his face.

Somehow though, despite his body language saying he didn't want to be here, Hamazura stood protectively over her wounded body. The dirty shaggy blond gulped, taking a deep and drawn out breath, before those shaky brown eyes grew firm with a new born resolve.

Hamazura had been watching. Still unsure of what he should do, he had followed after the girls just enough to let him get a good eye of what was happening as he heard the sounds of shouting from the door leading to the cooling tower. He panicked, finding the scarlet suited boy who had kidnapped the scientist who had been with Angela, Toka, and Index, facing off with Toka. Someone ridiculously strong and threatening had been waiting for them, ready to take them out before they could reach the final boss as some kind of mid-boss. Seeing Deadlock was more than enough of a reason for Hamazura to scram right there.

But then he had watched Toka, someone who was labeled a Level 0 like him, go toe to toe with a boy who was faster, stronger, tougher, and wielding a weapon that was designed to pierce and shatter iron walls with a single shot. Even as the high school girl had been hit, bloodied, and nearly killed as she faced her imminent death, Toka didn't back down or run away. A Level 0 like her, no more special than him, continued to fight and stand her ground.

Why? Why had that common girl fought so hard despite being outmatched in every physical category? It was the same as when she had fought that live wire Esper. If what she had said was true, she didn't have any special ability to give her an edge or turn the tides of battle into her favor. She was powerless. But. . .she had been anything but weak.

That girl who had no business bloodying her own body against someone who had obviously been dipped into the Darkness of the city, fought because it was something her heart had willed her to.

In that that moment as Hamazura had watched Toka's body give out on her due to her wounds and leave her open for the kill shot, the foolish thug's heart had finally spoken for him. It had shouted loudly, telling him all that he needed to know to act.

It said; I don't want that girl to die.

Hamazura had found his answer and pulled the trigger. There was no going back now that he acted.

"The names Hamazura Shiage, just a Level 0 who's fucking sick of sitting back and whining about being powerless to even save one simple girl!"

Speaking what he felt from the bottom of his heart after everything he had heard, Hamazura rained a stream of gunfire at the wounded scarlet suited boy. Deadlock's expression grew livid at the announcement before activating his suit's jets to evade the bullets. He grew alarmed as he had only been able to skate a few spaces away, just barely missing a bullet hitting his back, before his jets died. It was only than that he realized that small jets and just about every skate wheel on his suit had been broken. The wheel on his feet cracked, shattering and leaving him to trip flat on his face. His face hit the floor, smashing his nose against the hard steel; his nose bleed heavily upon impact.

Hamazura grinned in victory, aiming his barrel at the stroke of bad luck falling on Deadlock and pulled the trigger that would end it all.

 **Click, click.**

". . .You got to be shitting me." A twitch grew in Hamazura's right eye as his rifle didn't fire. He'd been lower on ammunition than he thought.

Fuck.

Blood gushing out his nose, Deadlock chuckled as he got back up.

"Out of bullets? How unfortunate!" Deadlock roared smugly as he ran forward. Though he lacked his pile driver, that didn't mean he didn't have a weapon. Reaching for his now destroyed weapon's last firing nail, he brandished it like a stake, intent on driving it into Hamazura's body.

Seeing the long, piercing nail going for his chest, Hamazura dropped the empty rifle and reached for his pocket. Just before Deadlock could run the steel nail through him, Hamazura swung and deployed the collapsible steel police baton to block the thrust. Sparks flew up at the deflecting swing as Deadlock fought to overpower the blond thug. Hamazura flinched, feeling the scarlet suited boy push him back before he kicked Deadlock's kneecap as hard as he could. Deadlock cursed in pain as his leg gave out. Before the Queen Diver boy could fall, the cold tough steel of Hamazura's Anti-Skill baton swung for his face, lashing out with a crack on his face.

"FUCK!" Deadlock spat as blood gushed from his busted lip.

Hamazura didn't stop there. As Deadlock stumbled, The End of The Century Emperor wildly swung his baton at the brown haired mercenary, batting Deadlock around like a ball with a war cry. Again and again, blow after blow of hard steel smacked and bashed Deadlock with such speed and ferocity he couldn't grasp a moment of clear thought to counter.

"It's your fault, isn't it!? You and your fucking boss are the reason District 10 is caught up in some god damn turf war, right!?" Hamazura hissed with each swing, "Spouting bullshit about doing all this for us! When the fuck have we ever asked anyone to bathe the streets with blood and bullets!? When have we worthless Level 0s ever begged anyone to destroy Academy City for some noble wish!? When the god damn hell have we ever crawled to anyone with tears on our faces to be saved by bastards like you!? Because I sure as fucking hell don't ever recall ever giving my damn life away to assholes to use like some shitty chess piece for their own crappy goals!"

A snarl stretched Deadlock's face as he lashed out with stab in between Hamazura's swings. The Queen Diver boy grinned maliciously, watching the nail gouge the skin along Hamazura's left rib cage, just nearly stabbing right through. Blood gushed out of the wound, causing Hamazura to skip back as Deadlock swung diagonally, scoring a slash that tore the shaggy blond thug's favorite yellow sweater and cut his chest.

Hamazura flinched deeply, his free hand flying for his ribs and feeling the torn flesh that soaked his entire hand with slick red. His breathing began to grow heavy as he kept his glaring eyes on the scarlet suited boy.

A gash was nothing. He'd already been shot today; what was a stab compared to a bullet at this point?

"Y-You dirtied the name of Skill-Out, Komaba's Skill-Out, for your own damn goals. You turned the gangs we were on good ground against us. Your fucked up master plans killed some of my friends! And your mess dragged me along to participate in some final battle I really don't want any part of!" Hamazura roared as he dropped his left hand from his bloody wound. His face twisted with pure rage, his eyes glancing back right behind him to find two nuns staring at his back from far away, and seeing the unruly haired high school who had fought until her body given out, "And worst of all, you harmed someone who inspired this worthless, stupid, pathetic Level 0 to get off his damn ass and do something about this entire shit show you're running." he spat lowly so only the two boys could hear.

"How stupid can you be!?" Dealock yelled furiously, "You're a true Level 0 like me! Aren't you tired of this cities Espers looking down on you like you were some piece of trash that drifted by them? Aren't you tired of surviving on sales because of the low stipend this city gives us? Don't you want power just like the rest? Don't you want to stand on equal grounds with everyone and be free of this city's expectations!? Don't you want limits that you can realistically break?!"

"Fuck that."

"What?!"

Hamazura sneered, brandishing his baton for another smack down, "You're right, I'm sick of this city and the higher ups looking down on me. I'm tired of even Level 1s making fun of me. And I'm tired of the crappy check those idiots up top hand down like it was some shitty participation ribbon. I'm. So. God. Damn. Sick. OF IT! But I'm even more sick of dumb asses like you who think they know what's best for me! Like hell I want to stand on equal ground with those pricks! That's what you want, not what we all want! You may not know this, but Skill-Out ain't about attacking all Espers, only those who go around harassing Level 0s, even lower levels! We may be no good thugs, but at least we're doing more for our fellow Weaklings than you idiots!"

A proud grin grew on Hamazura's face as his feet kicked off the ground. Charging ahead, he yelled with all his might as Deadlock mirrored his action to run ahead with his piercing nail.

"Fuck whatever goals you have in mind, fuck your reasons, fuck your righteous dream of equality; I just want you to hit the damn ground! As if this lowly, crappy, stupid Level 0 would want to be saved by the likes of youuuuuuuuuuu!"

The two boys who were labeled One's Without Power collided against another. Hamazura grimaced in anguish as the sharp piercing nail stabbed through his sweater and dug into his abdomen. He spat blood, his breathing hoarse as he glared weakly at the darkly grinning Deadlock. With the nail in his abdomen, all it would take was a simple swipe to the left to deal a fatal wound. Still, Hamazura mustered the strength to grin back in victory, confusing the scarlet suited boy. It was only than that Deadlock found his eyes falling down to find the police baton touching his own abdomen. Deadlock didn't understand. Why would the thug believe he won?

A small streak of sparks flashed along the steel baton, answering his question before his eyes flew open in panic.

All it took was a simple press of a button before Deadlock could further wound Hamazura. The steel baton flashed brilliantly with a coat of over fifty thousand volts of electricity, the same voltage that police tasers produced, that stabbed Deadlock's body. The Queen Diver's suit's wiring went haywire and lent its own sparks to the stun batons sparks to further shock and scorch Deadlock's body. His muscles convulsed, smoke blew up from his suit with the scent of cooking flesh, all while a scream of agony erupted from his mouth. But he wasn't the only one to suffer the shock.

The conducting metal of the pile bunker nail was still in his grasp, stabbed into Hamazura's abdomen. Like a circuit wire, the voltage that was frying Deadlock traveled along his arm and weapon to deal an equal shock to the shaggy blond thug. Hamazura openly ground his teeth together, enduring the thousand upon thousands of volts hitting his body. Despite the torture of electricity shocking his nerves and clouding his senses, he pushed the baton further into Deadlock until he slammed the mercenary into the floor.

This bastard. It was because of this bastard and his boss that Hamazura was even involved with this mess! If it wasn't for him, than it would have been just another day for him. His normal, somewhat peaceful, day had been ruined because of some idiot who thought he knew better for Hamazura and his fellow Level 0s. Because of this asshole, several of his friends had died! Knocking him out wouldn't do. No, the Deadlock bastard was better off buried in the trash! Running off pure adrenaline, Hamazura continued to endure the shock and pressed the baton deeper into Deadlock to the point he nearly pierced right through his body. His eyes were livid, wild with hate and rage as he spat venomously.

"GO AND DIE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTTTTTTTTT!"

"Please. . .stop."

The clouding rage was banished by the soft touch of a girl's soft, weak, bloody hand on Hamazura's hand, the same hand that tightly gripped the stun baton. His finger let go of the switch, stopping the flow of electricity to both parties. Against his better judgment, Hamazura let go of his baton, watching dully as it fell to the ground and rolled out of his reach. He suddenly felt exhausted, tired beyond belief, before falling back against the one who had stopped him in acting his revenge. His head looked back, finding equally tired and worn out eyes.

Hamazura wanted to know why she had stopped him, but felt too tired to utter another word.

Toka shook her head, patting the simple blond thug's head with a sigh. Her eyes gestured to Deadlock, showing Hamazura the smoking, burned up, Queen Diver boy laying on the ground without a twitch. The boy's eyes stared up at the ceiling, his gaze vacant with only a slight rise of his chest to tell them he was still breathing. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be getting back up any time soon.

The fight was over. There was no need to go any further with death.

"You won, idiot. You played the role of hero just fine, Hamazura-san. Guess you're more than some lowly thug." Toka grinned widely.

Footsteps could be heard behind Toka, causing Hamazura to glance back to find the silver and raven haired holy sisters running over with worried expressions. A small smile fell on his face as he released a long, worn out, sigh.

 _'Hero, huh? That's going a little far, isn't it?'_

Eh, he was too beat up to correct her.

"Hold him still, Toka-chan! I may not have much magic left, but it should be just enough to heal both of your wounds."

Magic? Hamazura tiredly looked up to find the bustier raven haired nun lay her hands over both him and Toka before a soft green glow fell over him. He must have been seeing and hearing things. Magic, here in Academy City? That was just make believe. To his surprise though, he found small orbs of light hovering over them to cast a warm sensation over his bloody wounds. Oddly enough, all his wounds, minor and heavy, were being treated and healed like that. His eyes were wide in disbelief at what he was seeing.

Wait, hadn't the raven haired devote sister done some strange things earlier? It hadn't been an Ability, he was sure of that. It had felt too alien, even now. So, what was she doing and how? Magic? There. . .there was no such as thing as something as silly as that.

In a matter of moments, Hamazura's and Toka's wounds were healed by the magic spell. Even the most deadly one, the puncture wound in his abdomen, was gone, leaving only a hole in its place on his already ripped sweater. Hamazura moved to get up, only to nearly trip over his shaky legs. Seeing that, Angela moved and held the thug steady with a stern expression on her face as Index did the same with Toka.

"Don't move just yet, Hamazura-san! Just because I healed your wounds, doesn't mean you're a hundred percent! You've lost quite a bit of blood, not to mention you're still reeling from the pain. You need to give your body some time to rest before you can continue on. The same goes for you too, Toka-chan!" Angela lectured over Hamazura's shoulder to her stubborn younger sister.

Toka pouted as Index helped to support her as they walked over to the two.

"But I hate waiting! Can't we just kick down the door and get this over with already? I really want to punch that head honcho's face and go home. If you haven't noticed, I stink." Toka complained dully.

Index blinked at the comment, her nose twitching as it suddenly caught a horrible stench. The silver haired sister couldn't help but gag lightly to the side.

"See?"

Angela sighed as she helped move Hamazura past the large vent in the middle of the ground to rest against the wall. While Toka had taken a lot after their father, she had her own personality that was similar to her mother's. Give the normal high school girl a bat, and she would be exactly like her Level 0 mother. She ignored her sister and began to move over to another important matter that caught her attention.

Hamazura scowled, noticing the holy raven haired sister walk away to kneel down next to Deadlock's smoking body.

"What the hell are you doing, Sister?" he hissed angrily.

"I don't have much magic left, barely enough to heal, but it should be enough to not leave any permanent damage on the boy. He still won't be able to move after, but it's better than leaving him like this." Angela explained simply as she cast a warm green glow over Deadlock's body.

"But he's the enemy! Why the fuck would you heal someone who had been trying to kill you!? Are you touched in the head?!"

Angela didn't appreciate the comment, sending a glare at the blond thug that was enough to shut him up. He laughed nervously at the dark aura now emitting from the holy sister.

"He's not the enemy anymore, is he? Our fight with him is over, he's just a severely wounded boy now. And as a devote Christian under god's teachings, I can not turn a blind eye to him. He was just a lost lamb who had strayed from the honest and just path god had set for him. And it's my duty to lead all those who have strayed from god back to his loving arms." Angela explained softly with a tender smile on her face.

"And what about Dangan? You left him to suffer."

Angela's eyes didn't meet his own, staring away as she spoke lowly.

"He was a sinner. One beyond our lords salvation."

Hamazura of course didn't understand any of what she said. He was an Esper, the complete opposite of those who followed religion and miracles of faith. Teachings and words of god completely flew over his head. He could only sigh and drop the matter. Inwardly, he made a note to finish off the bastard if he so much as noticed Deadlock make a move at them. Screw good will, it was no skin off Hamazura's back if he killed the asshole. He'd done the same to Dangan when the girls backs were turned, he'd do the same again here.

Done with healing what she could, Angela exhaled loudly as she wiped some sweat off her forehead. It was official, she was now out of magic. Not to mention she herself was still wounded and exhausted from the day's events. Walking back beside Hamazura, the raven haired holy sister fell back to sit next to the dirty blond thug. Index and Toka followed in suite, resting against the cold, soothing concrete walls behind them for relief.

Wordlessly, they all knew there was still one more matter to attend to. The Final Boss laid ahead of them through several more rooms. It was thanks to some magic that they had learned where to go to find the location of Skill-Outs boss. One more challenge awaited them. The true origin of all this mess. There really was no time to be resting. The end to the chaos was patiently awaiting to enact their plans to eliminate the creation of Espers, basically bringing down all that Academy City had worked towards. Right now, they needed to move fast and put an end to all this.

But those four that sat back, on the very edge of unconsciousness, were simply human. Whether they liked it or not, they had to take a moment to rest and gather their strength for the last battle. Besides, they had done the most important job; clear the way to the Final Boss for the real hero to enter.

A bright smile could be found on Toka, Angela, and Index's face as one face came to mind.

 _'Please, hurry, Touma.'_

Even though they weren't pleased with the thought of that precious someone entering the fray, they each knew that he would somehow get involved. The stage was now set for the final act. And they knew all that was needed was for that hero to enter the stage with his right fist chambered.

Hamazura grunted lightly, knowing that he was in no shape to do anymore. That was fine with him. He had done more than enough for a thug like himself. Hoping that it wasn't broken in all the fighting, luck had shone down on this Level 0 as Hamazura found his cell still in tact. For a second, he would have thought the current running through him would have fried it. With a few taps, he sent a message to a certain leader before decided to lay back, his eyes locked on to the knocked out and wounded Deadlock in case he made any moves.

 _'Boss, you better get here fast. I don't know what exactly is going on, but we needed to put in end to it. It's time Skill-Out cleared its name and showed everyone who's in charge.'_

* * *

"What the hell happened here? It looks like a hurricane passed by."

"Nyaa! Essentially, it looks like someone had gone crazy with red paint and splattered it everywhere like some messy child!"

Touma grimaced at Fremea's assessment of the carnage that they were witnessing as they crossed the warn torn battlefield that was the entrance to the Hoshi Reactor Facility. All around them, he could see bodies splayed about, littered with bullets, severe wounds, and burns. Both Skill-Out and security personnel could be found among another. One of the worst of the corpses was the blond and black haired boy laying in a crater at the bottom of the flight of stairs leading up to the facility with a bullet through his skull.

The fighting had reached this far? Just what the hell was all this for!?

"Ooooh! I really like that look in your eyes, Kamijou-onii-san! Essentially, it looks like you're going to crack someone's skull open!"

Standing at the entrance into the facility, Komaba glanced back at the normal high school boy at his side. The large gang leader was actually taken back at what he saw in that boy's eyes.

A cold, blistering, fury shadowed Touma's face. The look in his eyes spoke of outrage, a determination to face off with whatever was the cause for all the bloodshed. It was the sight of someone who couldn't stand idly by and allow such atrocities to occur and wished for nothing more than to drill his fist into the person's face. The right fist by the high school boy's side trembled, eager to find its target.

It was only than did Komaba realize just how threatening the boy could seem.

A rumbling his pocket brought Komaba's attention to his cell. Seeing a message from a certain blond thug, he frowned before proceeding to enter the building.

"Let's not waste anymore time. It seems one of my men has secured a path to the location of the bastard who started all the fighting. I'm sure we'll find those friends of yours waiting alongside him." he added to relax Touma's concerned gaze.

Touma nodded firmly, following along as they made their way to the center of District 10's troubles, and unknowingly, Academy City's. There was nothing more that needed to be said in that moment by either men. The darkness awaited them and they walked in with their fists clenched tight to banish whatever had created all the turmoil and destruction that threatened the people they wished to protect.

Hanging off the back of Komaba's shoulders, Fremea grinned widely, more than eager to see the two macho men thrown down with the final boss.

"Essentially, get ready for the biggest ass whooping of your life, Villian-san!"

* * *

Within the deep center of Hoshi Nuclear Reactor, there laid a secluded hangar. Within that hangar, several pieces of high tech equipment were set up and attached to connect to the center of the large room. A strange device was set up set up that took priority space of the hangar with several electrical cables falling from the ceiling to connect with the device.

The device, or machine, in question was made out of an alabaster white metal that reflected what little light could be found in the hangar in the shape of a pod. The center of where the device laid was a large circular platform composed of several glowing red circles among computers that helped to run and command the pod. Surrounding the platform were several smaller see through tanks that were large enough to fit a large human male, filled with an odd green obscuring liquid. At the center of the large alabaster white pod was a glowing red lenses that emitted an ominous aura reminiscent of an eye seething with malevolence. And at the sides of the pod were two large supporting arm like beams that helped to steady and ground it. Running down the sides of the pod were a series of English letters that revealed it's name.

Level Eater/Model Case-GHOUL.

The hangar was empty except for the lone individual typing away on the main computer that stood facing at the Level Eater. The individual was blond, his hair reaching his neck and combed perfectly with some of his blond lock falling over his forehead with two bangs at each side of his clear blue eyes. He wore a white suit with golden lines running down, white dress pants, and chocolate brown gentleman's shoes. The boy appeared no older than fourteen despite the calm features on his face.

The blond boy hummed in thought as he paused his clicking away at the keyboard. Leaning back on his seat, he found his eyes wandering towards the ceiling. A chill ran down his spine, one that brought an eager grin to his perfect features. A chuckle left his lips as he rested his head against his palm, his eyes returning to the computer screen.

 **Brain Wave Scan Completion: 57%.**

 **Radio Signals at 100%. Awaiting Transmission.**

 **Drones at Stand By.**

 **Level Eater/Model Case-Ghoul on Stand By.**

 **Range of Transmission. . .14 Miles and Growing.**

 **Completion of MELODY. . .34%.**

The blond boy couldn't help but grin in anticipation.

* * *

 ** _Your limits have hit a wall. Battered, wounded, ready to collapse on your knees; do you have the strength and grit to shatter your limits? It's there, so raise your fist._**

 _ **When faced with solitude, rage, resentment, and hatred for the world, can you stand in the face of an Error in Humanity?**_

 _ **The fine tuning of the finale is almost complete. A grand illusion is set to play onto the scene.**_

 **When next we all met, the finale chapter will begin! But due to how large it is, it will be split into two parts. It only felt right to split it up, it would be too much to just throw out a nearly 50-60K+ chapter at ya's. Too much of a good thing is bad for you after all.**

 **In the mean time, I'll be busy working on other projects I still have on the burner. One that I've already discussed with my bud ArmoredCoreNineBall about. And I, as well as you guys too, will be patiently waiting for NTR22 to be translated. I can't help but smell some NT9 shit going on. Damn it, Kamachi; hasn't the boy suffered enough?!**

 **Anyway, Read and Review! It's common courtesy!**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	8. Human Error

**Here we are again! Only one more chapter until the grand finale!**

 **NeoShadows here to deliver the lead up to the final battle of this new Arc. At first this had simply started off as Zeroes War, but now that we're at the end, it has evolved as The Level Eater Arc. How things have changed. I'm going to have to go into detail about a few things once this Arc is done, my own Ending Notes so to say.**

 **Before we get on with this, I must apologies. For what? Did. . .did you not notice how big this chapter is? 30K+. I went a little overboard as I tend to. I know when I wrote for RWBY; still do actually, just waiting to get over a shit load of edits; I would have some complaints about the chapter size. So, I apologies if it's a bit too much to chew. Also, did anyone else read NT22R? Sweet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! We're going to have to talk about that at the end. First, reviews!**

 **DN Works: God damn the finale. I may have written it, and it's awaiting edits, but it still hits me hard. It's true, those future children do have an advantage with the usual knowledge of the future at their disposal. But who ever said they knew everything? There are certain skeletons that those highly revered adults refuse to speak of even as the world is turned to flames. Though there a few who are in the know, and will do whatever it takes to even take advantage of that knowledge for their own plans. As for Mila, you'll just have to see for yourself. When one is so consumed by their own destructive emotions, they lose all sight of the world as a whole and can only gaze at the hell that created them.**

 **BlueJack22: Dark, eh? You ain't seen nothing yet! But where there is darkness, there is light. . .I just went Kingdom Hearts there, didn't I?**

 **Jonathanblade00: But of course! What else would you expect from a child of Kamijou Touma? Each one in thier own way cares a spark of what made Kamijou, Kamijou. And I do mean each one. In the next few chapters, you'll be catching an eye of a few more children. Try guessing them, if you can! This lively little Arc is going to erupt from here on out!**

 **Nguyen Thanh Long: . . .I swear to god, if that Jo was suppose to end with another Jo, than. . .you are my kin. But nope! That ain't Misaki's and Touma's kid. Funny you should mention him with this chapter.**

 **Vinzelles: Glad you're liking the story. As for the whole Divine Punishment thing, that's just an effect of the Ten Commandment's spell, not the actual name for the spell itself. Anyone who breaks the cast commandment brought down by Moses will suffer punishment from the heaven's, in other words Divine Punishment in the form of holy bolts. So, it's not called Divine Punishment in the same way that Vento's spell is literally named as Divine Punishment. I'm always careful to not copy the same naming conventions as other canon spells, so don't worry. It's fun guessing who's mother the child is, isn't? I got a few more these next few chapters, if you want to try your luck.**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: Same goes when you update your story. Takes me a bit to get to it, but I always thoroughly enjoy each new chapter. Speaking of which, Coronzon? Really? . . .I think I love you, or her really. Always been a fan of demons girls, and she is the Great Demon. In all the right ways. Anyways, I do really think I've gotten Kamachi's writing style down rather well. I've always liked it because it was similar to my own after I began to finely polish it. I love that I brought in Hamazura early into the game, I really do. And I've always worked carefully to make my OCs as well received as possible. As my fans from my other fandoms have told me, I got a knack for creating new characters. I'm sure you'll love the grand finale!**

 **TazalTerminals: I wish you good luck. We got at least two more this chapter, so go wild! As for the blond boy, you'll see.**

 **TheWookie1: Oh, you bet your ass we are! Ah, Dangan. He was something alright. It was only fitting that he was taken out by Hamazura after being punished by a 'godly' power. Oh, Deadlock. Yeah, you're going to want to read this. Shit's about to go down, for real.**

 **Well, that's out of the way for now. What? Get to scrolling already! The show's finally begun!**

* * *

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi._**

 ** _I'm in pain right now. I hate my little brother and his fans. Because of them, I've had to suffer the cringe-fest that is known as Nyan Neko Sugar Girls. I've died inside and am now writhing in my own suffering._**

 ** _Just. . .just don't look it up. Please, for your own sake! I couldn't even endure two minutes of that. . .that thing! And it's over an hour long when you add all ten episodes! As either a Writer or Artists, it just fucking kills you!_**

 ** _And it has a fandom after seven years! WHAT THE FUCK!?_**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Human Error.**

 ** _Ignored_Tears._**

* * *

It was with one final gunshot that the swarming army of both bots and Powered Suits fell, bringing with their end a calming silence on the streets of District 7. The lumbering and towering form of a standard Powered Suit fell forward with a heavy thud as an accurate shot had shattered the occult sigil on its forehead like glass, rendering its movements null without its controller.

Yomikawa Aiho breathed a huge sigh of relief as she slowly lowered her firearm. Hitting such a small target with a handgun was a very difficult task, but she had scored the critical hit just before the rogue Powered Suit could fire off another round from its shotgun. She grimaced, her right hand going for her left shoulder where she suffered a graze from the shrapnel flying by, among other wounds. Thankfully, it appeared to be over now. Her P-Phone grew alive with chatter of the other Anti-Skill forces and Judgment forces announcing the end of the rampage of machines. Every district was calling in the end. After hours of fighting and loss, they had brought the robot uprising to its conclusion.

"Just what the hell was that about?" Yomikawa grunted as she turned away from the now powerless machines, her sights set on aiding anyone who had been wounded from the fighting.

It was nothing but pointless mayhem. After all that fighting, the master mind of the attack hadn't shown up or delivered a message of their grand plan of attack. It was. . .unsettling to say the least. Who would go through all that trouble without announcing their reason?

As much as Yomikawa wanted to discover what was the cause for the attack, her top priority right now was the safety of the civilians. She could already make out both Anti-Skill and Judgment members aiding those who had been caught up in all the chaos. She was relieved to see no bodies laying around silently. Somehow, they had survived without any losses, only heavy wounds that could be treated.

"Is it safe, Anti-Skill-san?"

Over to the far left of her position, Yomikawa spotted several students hiding behind an overturn stack of cars that had been abandoned by their owners. It had worked as a psuedo rampart to protect those students from the bullets and beams fired by the hijacked machines. It was hastily set up not by any adult, but one student. From the corner of that rampart of battered vehicles, the blue haired officer could see a girl wearing the standard Tokiwadai uniform step out with a cautious gaze of the street.

The girl's hair was a platinum purple, done up in princess curls that resembled ringlets.

Her name was Hokaze Junko; Level 4; Ability: Rampage Dress.

Yomikawa smiled gently with a nod. It was good to see that there were some students willing to put themselves in danger to protect others. Just because they were all children, didn't mean that they would panic like adults and focus on their own safety.

"It's alright now. Seems that we were able to suppress the attacking force, and it doesn't seem that anymore will be showing up. If there any injured, tell them to come out and we'll begin aiding those who need medical attention away. The rest will need to come along with me. We're going to need to speak with everyone to get a detailed description of what went down."

From the haul of cars, several more students began to move out cautisiouly. They were all girls, sporting the same uniform as the platinum ringlet haired girl. A small party of ojous stood out nervously with faces of fear that were slowly being eased. Of those girls, two of them stepped up beside Hokaze. One had a hair color similar to Yomikawa's own, falling back to her waist with few locks falling half way over her forehead with an almost passive expression. The other girl had fluffy light brown hair down to her neck and a kind face. It seemed they had done what they could to protect their fellow classmates from all the mayhem. Yomikawa would have to commend them for such bravery later.

Taking a step away to help the other Anti-Skill with evacuating the students, Yomikawa suddenly paused as an odd noise caught her attention. She frowned, feeling uneasy as she looked back to the many cleaning bots, security bots, and Powered Suits strewn about all around the streets. What sounded like static was being emitted by each of the machines, similar to the broadcast of a radio station.

It was only than that the blue haired Anti-Skill Lieutenant discovered another odd occult symbol now dotting over all the rogue machines.

" _. . .Tran. . .Tr. . .Transmi. . .T. . .T. . .TRANSMISSIT. . .Transmitti. . .TrAnSMItINg. . Sig. ._ "

A robotic voice struggled to speak clearly through the static.

Yomikawa stared at the harmless machines warily.

It was over. . .right?

* * *

To Touma's surprise, the path to the final boss's 'lair' had been clear of any trouble or threats.

As the party made up of Touma, Komaba, and Fremea, ran through the many halls and rooms of the facility, they didn't encounter any of the Skill-Outs who had sided with the leader of all the chaos. Instead, what they found were the knocked and groaning bodies of thugs as they passed them by. Interestingly enough, Touma did find a few with tarot cards on their bodies that seemed to keep the much more rowdier delinquents in check, almost like handcuffs. No doubt Angela's doing.

It hadn't taken too long to reach the bottom level of the facility, mostly in thanks to Komaba's friend sending them the rather accurate directions. Remembering that Index had accompanied them, it was no doubt in thanks to her that they could make their way as fast as they did.

Anxiety ate away Touma's mind as they neared their destination. This had been the longest he had been away from Index. The last time she had been out of his sight for even an hour, she had been kidnapped by some forgotten acquaintance who wanted to turn her into a vampire.

Was she alright? Was she hurt? Was she hungry? Please, let it not be the last! Now wasn't the time for that silver haired sister to be demanding him to feed her! Wait, no, Index, don't bite this poor Kamijou-san! He didn't bring any food!

Komaba and Fremea stared strangely at Touma as his face grew panicked, watching as the spiky haired boy gripped his head and swung it around as if he was trying to get rid of something invisible that was attacking his skull.

Soon enough, they reached the door to a water cooling tower of all things. From what Komaba's friend had messaged them, they were all resting and waiting for them to arrive. Touma's palms were sweaty, his thoughts filled with nothing but worry before he swung the door wide open with a frantic shout.

"INDEX! ANGELA-SAN!"

With the metal door swinging behind him, Touma dashed in, eyes scanning the large cement bricked nuclear cooling tower for the nuns in question. His face grew anxious, noticing the signs of fighting around the large room; several spots were marred with explosive scuffs and smoke, and several dried blood stains could be seen on the steel floor. His mind immediately thought to the worst outcome. His breathing grew labored as he felt panic take over; his right hand reached for his chest and grew tight, trembling with a dark emotion he had only felt once before.

It had been when he had been fighting the Aureolus Dummy. After seeing what that impostor had done to the other students of the Misawa Cram School, turning them into molten gold to attack him with as if they were just petty resources, Touma had momentarily lost control of his own emotions. Having grabbed the deadly gold dart chain, he had given into those cruel, seething, spiteful, and dark emotions and strangled the bastard, caring little if he had crossed a line he should have never even seen.

An ominous shadow had grown over Touma's face, teeth grit together like grinding stones, his fist trembling with a rage and frustration he wasn't sure he could contain. That dark, destructive gaze soon found the lone figure in the facility resting back against a wall to his left, a figure he had already met with before.

"Deadlock."

Touma spat scathingly, finding the scarlet suited mercenary, beaten and wounded, the boy's suit torn with burns of severe blisters crawling over his skin. It was clear that the Queen Diver suit boy wasn't in any condition to be making any move, not with his body so heavily wounded. And yet, that Level 0 decked out in a suit created to eliminate a certain Level 5, had enough strength to smirk weakly at the seething high school boy.

"So. . .the clown finally. . .arrives. Heh. . .too. . .late. . .though." Deadlock grunted, his voice speaking of pain and discomfort despite the mocking tone.

' _. . .ggggrrrrrrrggggwwwwrrrggg_ '

A deep coursing, vicious, burning pulse had grown in Touma's right hand, enough to nearly take over all his senses with the agonizing pain. It was the same disturbing sensation that had taken his breath away while resting in his search for the girls. But unlike before, the throbbing force had mixed in with his overwhelming hate at the smug smirk on Deadlock's bloodied, burned face. Touma's expression only grew deeper with a vile rage at what the red suited boy seemed to hint.

Touma wasn't sure what the origin of the alien pressure was from, but he had the sudden urge to stop keeping whatever the invisible pressure that was contained in his arm, that seemed to thrash in an eager frenzy for freedom, loose on the bastard.

Too caught in his rage, the normal high school boy was unaware of the small cut along his right hand that leaked a high pressured hiss of invisible energy.

All it would take was a single second. A single second for those dark, tempting, overpowering emotions to unleash something that the world was never meant to witness to tear through all that stood it its way.

Whatever IT was; that unseen, vile, cruel, seething, alien pressure in his arm; if he let it go, he wasn't sure that he could contain it from devouring the son of bitch who dared to-!

"TOUMA!"

The excited, happy, bright exclamation from that most treasured someone was all it had taken for those cruel and malicious emotions to be banished, quenching the dark twisting flames that had been spun in that panicked moment. The shadows born on Touma's twisted expression dwindled away as his head immediately turned to find a silver haired missile soaring through the air on a collision course with the unlucky boy.

Touma couldn't find it in himself to admonish Index as she came in with a flying hug, feeling nothing but bubbling happiness as his arms encircled Index's small body tightly against his chest. A wave of relief washed over his being as he couldn't help but hug the nun he had protected for this long.

No one had seen it, but that spiky boy's body had only for a moment flickered. Like an overlapping pigment of. . .psychedelic hues. It was so faint and quick, no one would have seen it without a nigh perfect sight.

"Index. . .you're safe." Touma spoke softly with a smile.

The silver haired sister giggled as she responded with rubbing her face happily against her caretaker's chest. Her caretaker's. . .naked, sweaty, dirty chest.

Both Touma and Index froze perfectly still as they came to notice the awkward position they were in. Her face was pressed firmly in his sweaty pecs, her arms circling his waist and hands clinging to his back, and her small chest could be felt below his waist. A crimson flush painted over both they're faces as Index stared at Touma's shirtless chest, pressed against her very face. Touma shivered, feeling Index's warm breath and soft female skin touch his own, the sensation only burning his face up even more. He gulped, finding a dark aura spring up from the supposedly holy sister.

"TOOOOOUUUUUMMMMAAAA! WHY ARE YOU HALF NAKED!?"

The heart warming moment was shattered by the leaping jaws of death that sought only retribution.

"GGGGGGAAAAAHHHHHH! SUCH MISFORTUNE!"

It was to the sight of a shirtless high school boy, covered in wounds and a silver haired nun of all things feverishly chomping down on his head like a dog to a bone, that greeted both Komaba and Fremea as they finally made their way in. The leader of Skill-Out remained stoic at the odd sight, simply quirked a brow while uttering a small grunt. Fremea on the other hand. . .

"Nyaa! What's that nun doing to Kamijou-onii-san!? Bad nun, that's a very bad nun, nyaa! No biting my onii-san, he's not a chew toy!"

Dropping down from the noble and trusty steed known as Komaba Ritoku, Fremea ran over to the growling, wild nun and jumped into the fray, further bringing along chaos as the three wrestled another. Index only bit down further onto the poor Kamijou's head at the sight of yet another woman; Fremea latched onto Index's back and fought to remove the bear trap teeth that were the nun's teeth from Touma; and Touma could only roll around the floor and cry out his usual misfortune. If this had been some crappy anime, this would be the part where the three would kick up a dust cloud of wrestling limbs.

Off the side, unnoticed by the odd spiky haired boy who had walked, Hamazura was laid back against the right side of the wall with a bewildered expression on his face.

 _'What the hell am I witnessing right now? First this scary faced nobody barges in without a shirt on, than he's hugging the silver haired sister like some scene from a shoujo manga, and now he's being bitten by someone who's suppose to follow god's teachings. And what the hell is Fremea doing here?!'_

Wait, didn't that nun mention something about threatening him with the Touma Treatment? Was this it? Well, thank god if there is one that he didn't have to suffer that! Hamazura swore he could see blood running down the unlucky spiky haired boy's skull! Was that chick really a nun?

"Really, Index! You should know better than to chew on Kamijou-san's head like that! I thought we went over this already! The human skull can only endure so much crushing force!"

Groaning at her future mother's actions towards her father, Angela quickly went over to release Touma from his unjust torture. While it seemed impossible for anyone else to tear Index off from Touma once her deadly pearly teeth clamped down on his skull, Angela found it oddly simple; all she had to do was deliver a soft, yet firm chop to a certain spot on her mother's head. Seemed she was the only person in this entire world who could accomplish such a feat in such short time. The raven haired, mature sister giggled as Index let go before swiftly turning her head away with a huff from the groaning Touma. It was cute to see how her parents had interacted in their youth.

"Nya! Watch out, Kamijou-onii-san! It's another rabid nun who wants to swallow your swollen head!"

Wording, damn it.

Angela blinked once, finding what she could describe as the most adorable set of blue eyes glaring at her with hostility as their owner hugged Touma from behind. Her eyes took in everything she could see from the small blonde girl, from her cute beret, her frilly clothes that reminded her of some video game idol, to her adorable attempt of a glare as she wrapped her small arms protectively over Touma's neck. She couldn't help herself.

"SHE'S SO ADOWABLE!"

Angela squealed like a high school girl. Which, if she had gone to school, she was.

Fremea wasn't sure how it happened, but the next thing she knew, she found her small body coddled in the arms of the saintly raven haired girl. Unfortunately, no amount of wriggling could free her from the oddly affectionate nun's clutches.

"Awww, you're just the cutest little lost lamb I have ever seen! Tell me, have you heard of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ who will lead you into heaven?! The same heaven I can one day find you and dote on you when we are all welcomed into his loving arms one day?!"

"Nyaaaaaa! If it's the same heaven where you're lurking at, than I rather go to hell, nya!"

"I think I'll call you Lamb-chan, and you shall by my poor, sweet, little lost soul who I shall guide to paradise!"

For the poor, lost, helpless little lamb known as Fremea, no amount of struggling could free her from the older nun's loving embrace. A Saint had her now, for better or worse.

Komaba smirked at Fremea, finding the girl's pleading blue eyes asking for his aid. Normally he would go to his friend's rescue from trouble, but he thought better of it this time. Besides, he had something more important to take care of. Seeing Hamazura resting close by, Komaba wandered over to his shaggy blond friend's side. He was pleased to see that his fellow Skill-Out wasn't too injured, only a few scraps, bruises, and burns. Despite how damaged and torn Hamazura's clothes told of some major wounds, the blond was fine, if not appearing exhausted.

Hamazura grinned as Komaba walked over to his position. It was good to see his boss unscathed by all the fighting. Though once the large, intimidating man got closer, Hamazura did notice a few bruises and dried blood on the boss's chin. And was that black spray paint over his face?

"Glad you could make it, Komaba." Hamazura grunted as he got back up on his feet. Whatever that nun Angela had done to him had certainly relieved the worst of his wounds, but she had also been right about his body still not fit enough to move. His fight with the Deadlock bastard had taken one hell of a toll on him.

And Komaba noticed from the subtle frown on his stern features. Seeing his friend stumble slightly on his feet, the muscled thug leader gripped onto Hamazura's shoulder to steady him.

"You've had a long day, haven't you, Hamazura." What Komaba had asked could hardly be called a question.

Hamazura laughed sheepishly, his voice speaking of all the hardship and struggles he had luckily survived.

"Boss, you wouldn't believe the day I've had. You ever been dragged around a district engulfed with gang warfare by two nuns and a high school girl while fighting an out of control Esper, a Top Dog of District 10, and a mercenary wielding a pile driver of all things?"

Komaba wasn't sure if the shaggy blond haired delinquent was exaggerating even a tiny bit.

At the mention of a mercenary, Komaba's gaze strayed to the far end of the room where a certain red suited boy was kept a safe distance away from the others. He narrowed his eyes.

"Deadlock."

"You know the guy?" Hamazura asked in surprise, getting a slight nod from Komaba.

"A few days ago the boy had walked in to one of our bases to speak to me about some idiotic scheme to take complete control of District 10. He seemed to realize I didn't care for the title of Ruler of District 10 or the Bank Cards he offered for participating, so he offered a different proposition; to bring down Academy City's Power Curriculum Program. As you can already guess, I didn't buy into the sweet talk and declined his offer." Komaba's eyes grew dark, focused on the Queen Diver suited boy who he know realized was responsible for all the trouble in the last seven hours, "Deadlock wasn't the first to speak of overthrowing Academy City and its Espers, many other Skill-Outs and Level 0s, along with the occasional lower leveled Esper, had the same idea, but they all fell short of ever making any noticeable waves against the city. So, I had brushed him off as another small fry that was all talk and no bark." he growled.

At first Komaba had believed that the boy known as Deadlock was just another faceless idiot who could only think of causing trouble for his own sense of revenge. Other than the boy's high tech suit that was designed to defeat Espers up to Level 2, possibly 4, there was nothing else that caught Komaba's attention. Everything Deadlock had spouted was the usual dribble he had already heard from others who found themselves labeled Level 0; Academy City was unfair to those with No Power, those with Levels above 0 abused them for their own sadistic pleasure, the stipend they offered them was barely enough to live by, and they were seen as nothing more than fodder for the strong. It was nothing but useless chatter to his ears now.

If Komaba had known this was what Deadlock had been planning from the very beginning, he would have snuffed him out where he stood.

"What's the situation, Hamazura?" Komaba asked, his eyes never leaving the defeated red suited mercenary. His watchful eyes refused to miss even a twitch from Deadlock. He would not allow the boy to cause anymore trouble. It was then that he noticed something odd. On the center of Deadlock's chest was a tarot card, one that was commonly used by the occult.

Hamazura scratched the back of his head in thought. Despite how far he had made it into the final boss's lair, he still didn't have much of a clear idea of what was going on here.

"Don't really know, Komaba. Like I said, I was dragged along into all this by those two nuns over there." Hamazura pointed to the Angela and Index; the raven haired and older sister continued to snuggled poor Fremea while Index tried to help the small blonde out of her fellow sister's crushing grip, "From what little I've heard from that Deadlock bastard, this entire nuclear plant is the base of his boss who ordered him and several other fake Skill-Out factions to cause as much trouble as they could. Why, I don't know. All this just seems far too simple to be anything more than elaborate. I mean, they dragged all of District 10 into a war; and for what? If the leader of all this was intending to carry out some grand master plan, than wouldn't they want to do it silently instead of grabbing the attention of Academy City? Anti-Skill and Judgment would no doubt come sniffing them out." Hamazura explained in frustration as he tried to wrap his head around everything.

A sudden realization had struck both Hamazura and Komaba at that moment. Currently, District 10 was in the middle of a gang war, one that had taken over and spread throughout the veins of the abandoned block like a raging virus. All those who called themselves Skill-Out were battling out for control of this useless district for their own petty reasons after several misunderstandings brought them to fighting. Gang warfare would no doubt draw the attention of those whose responsibility it was to protect everyone in this city, even no good delinquents like Skill-Out.

But in the entire time that the gang war had been spurned by that nameless puppet master who played them all into fighting on the streets of District 10, no one had seen any sign of either Anti-Skill or Judgment. The protectors of Academy City were silent, showing no sign of moving in to stop Skill-Out from bathing the streets with blood. They had ignored them.

Why?

". . .Something doesn't feel right about this, Boss."

Komaba didn't answer back. Like Hamazura, he realized that this whole scheme ran much deeper than he could have possibly thought.

Off to the side of the two Skill-Outs, Touma was looking around the cooling tower for a missing head of unruly hair. Someone was missing from the party.

"Hey, Angela-san, Index, where is Toka-san?" Touma asked with a hint of worry in his voice. While he hardly knew a thing about the strange girl who seemed to show signs of at least knowing of the past him, he still felt the oddest sense of concern for her well being.

Relenting her grasp and allowing Index to pull the adorable girl known as Fremea from her, Angela turned back to Touma. The older of the two nuns walked over to address her future father's question, but before she could say thing, Angela found her green eyes wandering down to his chest. She made a sound of interest, lowering her face down to stare at his naked pecs as if she was inspecting a piece of machinery.

Soft feminine hands began to roam over Touma's chest out of curiosity, much to the plain high school boy's disbelief.

"Hmm, I suppose your muscles are decent, maybe even exceptional for a high school boy who doesn't workout or focus on his core. But you could definitely do better. I'm going to have to make a note to order some weights and look up some routines to help further build up your muscle mass. You're still far from the hero I pictured you to be." Angela muttered to herself as her hands began to run over the now red faced Touma's chest muscles and arm with no shame.

Her father in the future wasn't what you would call muscular, in fact you wouldn't even know it when you first looked at him that he was physically stronger than most. One word to describe his form would be; Lean. Like an Olympic athlete. All those years of fighting supernatural opponents had sculpted his body into peak human condition that had allowed him to keep up with people who's stamina's were literally godly. If the BREAKERS wanted any hope of their father becoming stronger for when he faced the Magic God of Ruin, than they would first need to start off with helping his current self build some mass.

She was upset to see the number of bruises, dried scrapes and cuts, and burns on Touma's body in her inspection. Her father had surely gone through some perilous events since they had been separated. As much as she hated it, it was for the better that Touma had to go through all that fighting on his own. In the end, it was all experience her father desperately needed to build up his strength for an even greater threat. She just wished it didn't have to be so painful for the one man she cherished above all others.

"ANGELA-SAN! CAN YOU PLEASE GET YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM MY LOWER ABDOMEN, PLLLLLLEEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE!?"

Too caught up in her own little world, Angela had forgotten that feeling up a high school boy, let alone someone who would become your father, with their shirt off in front of others wasn't exactly acceptable. It was then that she realized her hands hadn't stopped their wandering of Touma's muscles, having basically touched just about every fiber before they had begun to wander south of the border, if you know what I mean. It also didn't help that her own body had pressed itself against Touma's back, her above average breasts rubbing against the boy's naked and wounded back absently.

Seriously, if anyone were to know of the secret bond and connection those two hand, there would nothing but shame and disgust. All aimed at a certain unlucky spiky haired boy who was completely innocent of the erotic undertones.

"TTTTTOOOOUUUUMMMMAAAA!"

"Index, please! This Kamijou-san isn't the guilty party here! I'm not the one who's feeling up a high school boy, and also a woman of the church! If you think about it clearly, I'm the victim! This is nothing short of sexual harassment!"

Those deadly pearly white jaws of death were more than ready to chomp down onto Touma's skull. Sweat poured down his dirty face, his doom only further set in stone as Angela giggled and only pressed her guiltily soft and pillowy chest against his back.

"My, my, Kamijou-kun! What hard muscles you have here. You really should go without a shirt more often and show these bad boys off." Angela words were nothing more than oil to an already burning fire.

Seeing this jealous side of her mother was adorable in Angela's eyes. And nothing made her happier than messing with her parents, especially her mother who in the future was a lot more regal and composed than her current self.

Steam bellowed from Index's face as her milky white complexion turned bright red. It didn't help that her eyes had strayed to wander over Touma's naked chest. Seeing the boy who had saved her life, dragging her from the depths of hell, in such a position, caused her own heart to drum against her small chest. He just looked so. . .manly.

If this was a shounen manga, his very image would appear stern, his muscles ripped, the picture image of a battle hardened protagonist standing boldly.

". . .Index? Are you, alright? Is that. . .blood running down your nose?"

"Oh, my!"

Index turned away from both Angela and Touma with an embarrassed huff, shaking her negatively while also discretely cleaning off the guilty nosebleed. Stupid Touma.

Wanting to get back on track, Touma repeated his question. Angela tapped her cheek in thought before answering.

"Well, after we rested up a bit, Toka-chan decided to scout the area ahead. She never was not one for sitting around doing nothing. Honestly, that girl acts too much like a boy than a proper lady."

"Is that safe?"

"Don't worry, I made sure to seal the red suited boy's movements with a rune embedded on a tarot card. It appeared that Deadlock was the final form of security that the leader of this mess had to protect them. All the other no good heathens were dealt with."

"Yeah. . .we noticed that." Touma said slowly, remembering that tarots left in the wake of the Skill-Outs defeat among scorch marks. He was pretty sure he saw a few with knuckle imprints on their faces too.

"I admit, I may have gone a little overboard." replied Angela sheepishly.

At the mention of the unruly haired high school girl Toka walked back with a displeased expression from a set of stairs that lead up to a higher level. Just like Hamazura, her clothes were battered and torn by her fight with Deadlock, but her wounds were light compared to before thanks to Angela's healing incantation. With a passing warning glare to the disgruntled Deadlock who sat against the wall close to the open vent in the middle of the cooling tower, Toka finally noticed the three new guests joining them with her eyes locking onto Touma.

"Kamijou-san!"

The happy shout brought Touma's attention to sight of the unruly haired high school girl running over. He smiled, glad to see that the hostile aura she had once possessed had been ridden. He was still confused about Toka, she had spoken to him as if she had known him once before, as if he had failed her in some way. He honestly believed that she had been someone the past Kamijou had known and cherished, only to be forgotten as he was replaced by this no good shell. He was hesitant to talk to her and realize that he had hurt someone who could have meant something special to him.

But with how things were now, there really wasn't much time to dwell on a past that would no longer come back to him.

"Hello, Toka-san. Are you feeling alright?" Touma asked, noticing she had her own fair share of injuries.

Toka grinned as reached Touma. She couldn't help but feel happy now that she had been properly reunited with her father. She still had some dwindling memories of how she had reacted with him, and she felt horrible for how she treated him. A dark pit buried with emotions she never wanted to deal with had been uprooted by whatever curse that damned Magic God of Ruin had placed on her and she had said all those cruel things to Touma. Thankfully, Touma's right hand had dispelled the effects of the Magic God's curse, freeing her from its machinations before she said something she would regret for the rest of her life.

Even after all she had said to him, Toka was glad to see that Touma still worried about her. The grin on her face just grew giddier now that she stood in front of him.

This was what she had been fighting for all this time. To once again see the man who inspired her to do the things that she did.

"I'm fine, Kamijou-san. Thanks to you."

In the face of such a bright and cheery expression from a high school girl his own age, Touma couldn't help but look away with an embarrassed blush. Even if she appeared plain when compared to other girls he had met, their was something kinda pure about her.

"I didn't really do much, Toka-san. At least not enough to warrant thanks." Especially one so sincere.

Toka shook her head, her eyes soft and warm as she spoke to the very man who meant so much to her.

"No, you did. More than you could ever know." she muttered softly as she looked away shyly.

It was taking all Toka's will power to not hug her father without it being weird.

". . .Touma's doing it again, isn't he?"

"Now, now, Index. Such things are taboo. Though, seeing as this is Kamijou-san, I shouldn't be surprised."

Touma felt a chill run down his spine as twin dark aura's grew behind him. Weren't nuns suppose to radiate an aura of tranquility and peace?

Watching with a twinge of jealousy at all the female attention Touma was getting, Hamazura couldn't help but want to punch the spiky haired guy's lights out.

"Enough with all the shoujo crap! Aren't you heroes suppose to be taking care of something?"

Deadlock's mocking tone brought everyone's attention to the red suited boy's sneer. Touma scowled as he walked over to the boy who had called the past Kamijou's actions a distortion; someone who had been nothing more than a convenient illusion. Deadlock smirked at the sight of the spiky haired teen, noticing all the burns, cuts, bruises, and grime on just about every inch of Touma's skin. It seemed the so called hero had been caught up in a few other matters before arriving to the stage.

"You're late, clown. Seems your understudy had to make up for your missing spot light alongside another idiot to keep the show running."

"You were stopped either way, by Level 0s no less. So much for Level 0s being weak and powerless, huh?"

Deadlock chuckled gravely, "You think this proves anything? Zeroes fighting Zeroes is nothing new. You've seen out there in the streets, people without any worth or grain of power, beating each other into bloody mush over trivial crap. No, if anything, it's because of the system created by Academy City that we're left to turn on another. It's why all the students, high level and low level, are always fighting each other! It's because of the Esper Development Program that such tension and suffering even exists! All the distortions in this world of ours that is Academy City are created by Academy City!"

"So, your placing all the blame on the shoulders of Academy City for everything now? You still refuse to accept any of the blame yourself?" Touma glared.

Deadlock scoffed to the side, his eyes refusing to meet Touma's own like a stubborn child.

"Can you really say that the Esper Program isn't responsible for everything? That it's not the core of all the problems? The greatest distortion to the world was born with the promise of power to children who could never know any better?"

It was a loaded question. In a way, the red suited boy was right; many of the troubles in Academy City could be attributed to its creation of Espers. Skill-Out itself was born from Level 0s who were unable to bear any fruit of progress as Espers. Students harassed other students based on their Level as Espers because of a hierarchy created by Academy City. The Darkness in Academy City thrived because of the program that provided them all the guinea pigs they could possibly need. When it came down to it, Academy City was at fault for all the pain and suffering in their little world of science.

But the opposite could be said as well.

"You keep calling it a distortion, an illusion that creates tragedy to all in this city. But isn't the opposite true? Isn't Academy City also responsible for all the happiness the students find?"

"Happiness?" Deadlock sneered with a taunting smile, "Isn't that just another illusion? Ignorant of what lays beneath the surface of their reality, of the darkness that creeps behind their backs. You call that 'happiness'? I call it a blissful lie."

"Than why shatter it?!"

The shout shut Deadlock up, his eyes staring at the spiky haired boy with surprise.

Touma clenched his fist, knowing that what he had just said wasn't something to be expected from him.

"You're right, underneath the surface of Academy City, there lays a dark underbelly that twists the good intentions of others for their own desires. I've gotten a peek of it now. I know very well that it exists! But that's not all that makes up the world! All you've been seeing this far is pitch black and ignoring the light! That light isn't some illusion for you to corrupt or destroy! Those smiles, those laughs, those dreams; what fucking right do you idiots have to destroy that blissful world!?"

"So, what?! Do you expect me to stand aside and just let everyone suffer in silence!? That I should just ignore all the harm that Academy City creates!"

"I'm saying that no amount of so called justice is enough to make up for all the lives that you trample over in the process!"

Where was the justice in freeing others with the bodies of the innocent? If Academy City was solely responsible for tragedies overlooked by everyone, what good was making them suffer in return? What good was getting rid of the Power Curriculum Program? What right did they have to get rid of the dream so many students were working towards?

The eyes of that simple Level 0 who had only desired to return back to his normal life were firm, refusing to budge in the face of one who strove to bring terror to the city. All in the name of saving others.

"From what you've been saying, it sounds like you only wish to protect everyone who's been harmed by Academy City and its Power Curriculum Program; you want to shield them from the darkness born from those who want to twist their wishes for profit and science. But can't you see? You're doing it wrong!"

"AND HOW THE HELL WAS I WRONG WHEN COMPARED TO YOU!?"

The tarot card restraining Deadlock's movements trembled, struggling to contain the heavily wounded red suited boy. Deadlock's eyes were livid, his face twisted by a deep seated rage as he fought to break free from the odd force keeping him still. It wasn't much, but he had mustered enough willpower to rise back up, his body audibly straining against the magic keeping his arms still, to stand up to the very shadow that had once thwarted his good intentions long ago.

Everyone watching the two Level 0s speak went on edge, ready to intercept the deadly Queen Diver boy at the drop of a dime. Touma was different, not showing any signs of hostility as he met Deadlock's seething gaze with his own unflinching gaze.

Something had broken down inside Deadlock as he spoke with Touma, as he spoke to who he believed was just a normal boy manipulated to play a hero to weaken his resolve. It was only then, as he continued to speak with the spiky haired boy, did he come to a painful truth. That the Kamijou Touma he had seen as an illusion of his doubts had never been anything but real. That even though the memory of that boy had been lost to events he was no longer sure of, the simple boy who had once again stood in his way was the same as back then.

After so long since seeing that honest and earnest hero again, someone Deadlock had once hoped to meet again after everything had been settled, he could finally ask the question he had longed to be answered by only him. A question born by the impact of a normal fist that carried an unscientific weight behind it.

"Why did I lose?"

Deadlock and Kamijou Touma were both Level 0s. Both boys had no special powers to them. They were given the same Level by Academy City for their lack of progress. Both had wanted nothing more than to protect the people behind their backs. And both had been willing to go against the innumerable odds stacked against them to save people who've they've never met. In a way, they were the same.

So, why? When the two clashed, why was it that Deadlock's own resolve had failed to overwhelm a random boy who could only throw his fists around?

It had been a question always in the back of Deadlock's mind as he returned from his failed assassination of Shokuhou Misaki. Nagging at him like some gnawing tick that demanded to be addressed. But Deadlock had never been able to address the question, of the difference between the two boys resolve, as he had once again found himself drawn into the Darkness of Academy City. Perhaps that too had been due from a weakness in his heart. He had thought it better to ignore it and continue working on his own as a tool against those who despised the workings of Academy City. The resolve and conviction he had believed had been thrown away, working only for whatever his employer had demanded of him.

Than Deadlock had taken this job, going along with Mila's plans which had reminded him of his own forgotten resolve to fix this world. For a time, he had believed in that foreign girl's wish that would topple Academy City's precious Power Curriculum Program. A fire had been reignited that had him working alongside Mila with passion he had once lost.

But than their plans had hit a snag in the form of a random civilian getting in the way of the capture of Dr. Tatsumi. And Deadlock had been greeted with the face of that unanswered question.

When once again faced with the boy he called a clown, Deadlock had found an even stronger desire growing to snuff out that passionate flame. The opportunity for that unanswered question to be answered had been presented to him. But yet again, his weak heart had created excuses and reasons to keep his mouth shout. Until he could no longer take it.

"Why was I wrong when compared to you?! Hadn't we wanted the same thing?! Didn't we have the same desire to protect those who stood behind us, cowering and fearful, of the world that had them cornered to their own weakness?! We both fought for what we truly believed in, bleed for those we truly cared for, and put our lives on the line to attain some kind of happiness we could hold with our own battered hands! When it came down to it that day and today, we had both wanted nothing more than to bring peace and a bright future for those who couldn't do it for themselves! SO, WHY WAS I WRONG!? WHY DID I LOSE!?"

Those desperate, agonized, and tortured cries of the boy in the scarlet Queen Diver, who no longer possessed the strength to fight, rang out to those within in the cooling tower.

As twisted as his ways had been, as much suffering as those actions created, and for all the blood and mayhem he had caused; all Deadlock had wanted was to protect others from the darkness that lurked in their blissful light.

Was such a wish really wrong?

"I don't know."

Those weren't the words Deadlock had wanted to hear, least of all suspect. Hearing the uncertain answer had left the scarlet suited boy uncertain as well, unsure of what to say back to the honest confusion on the spiky haired boy's face.

"To tell you the truth, I really have no idea why that Kamijou-san won back then; especially if what you're saying about fighting thirty more guys wearing the same suit as you is true. Going by that, I should be dead!" A normal high school boy, fighting thirty Queen Divers, with his ability shattering right hand, Imagine Breaker, useless; it was a losing fight. Yet, the Original Kamijou Touma had not just survived, but defeated them all by himself? There had to be more he wasn't hearing. A slight discomfort arose in his temple that he ignored before continuing with a puzzled frown, "But you lost. For whatever reason, you lost that time. I don't know why, I don't think I could ever honestly tell you why, but I do know for sure one thing."

"And what's that?" Deadlock sneered.

"I'm not sorry."

Even though Deadlock had fought to protect something grand, the freedom of oppression and judgment from a city that deemed them a numerical value of worth in their eyes, to save those suffering under experiments that they had believed would make them special; Touma was not guilty in the slightest for standing in that scarlet suited boy's way. Because that borrowed heart refused to feel any guilt for its past actions.

Touma found himself staring down at his right fist, the very tool he had used many times since he awoke with no idea to his character or his own ideals and beliefs. That very fist had beaten down Deadlock and many others with violent swings and knuckles painted with blood. Hadn't those like Deadlock, and even Aureolus, been fighting for something precious too? Weren't they all in some way the same?

So, why had Touma been the one to come out of each conflict the winner?

He wasn't sure why. . .but, he might have an inkling as to something that would sound right.

"When I think about it more clearly, you were fighting to only save a selected few. You were fighting for the everyday students in Academy City who were silently suffering under this very city's pressure of expectations. And yet, you used members of Skill-Out as pawns to be thrown away in your pursuit. You willingly threw those Level 0s who were just like us, under the bus that carried the majority you believed deserved to be saved. Someone who saves others at the cost of tossing others aside, isn't someone Kamijou Touma is willing to ever lose to."

It was taking all of Deadlock's remaining strength not to push his body forward and attack the patronizing high school boy. What the hell kind of answer was that? It wasn't satisfying in the least! This was suppose to be the heroic clown who had not only stopped Deadlock's gang, but made his way through the raging streets of District 10's gang war in one piece! Someone like that should have had something to give him some kind of closure for all the suffering the hero had caused him!

"Not everyone can be saved. Those Skill-Out idiots abandoned trying to do any good at all and turned to harming everyone! They're domestic terrorists for fuck's sake! The only good fodder like them were any good for is a distraction!" Deadlock ground out through grinding teeth. His comments weren't taken well, least of all by the large bodied leader of Skill-Out and his right hand man. He didn't care, scoffing at the stares of disgust and anger, "What good would saving criminals who are much too alike with a bastard like me do?" he spoke lowly with his eyes staring off at the stretching ceiling above.

It was true, Skill-Out were also victims created by Academy City. In fact, they shared many things in common with Deadlock and the way he had been doing things in the Dark of Academy City. And that was why he didn't say a word when Mila had informed him that they were to be used as sacrificial pawns for their plans to ruin Academy City.

Skill-Out was commonly known as a domestic terrorist group within the cage of Academy City. If a crime was committed without any ties to the Darkness of Academy City, it was commonly linked to Skill-Out. They were an unorganized splintered organization of Level 0s who put all the blame on Academy City and its higher leveled Espers. Some gangs acted on their jealousy to attack students with abilities ranging from a measly Level 1. Others stole from banks, sold illegal drugs to naive students, harassed other Level 0s, kidnapped, and committed other unsavory acts on whoever they pleased; all with the excuse that the city had failed them.

Academy City had failed them; failed to correct them. Like every other problem, they were a distortion born from this damned city that prized their own goals over anything else.

Knowing that, Deadlock had lined Skill-Out to take all the blame. Not only would they be taken care of, but who's fault would it be for not keeping a better eye on them? Anti-Skill, maybe Judgment. All in all, it would go back to Academy City to blame in the end.

"What would you have done? Wouldn't you have done the same to protect those who cowered behind your back?"

"Of course not."

Touma's words were firm, with a strong belief that went against Deadlock's own. When the beaten Queen Diver boy met Touma's eyes again, he didn't spy the same confusion as his own. What he found was a clear resolve and determination in spite of all the wounds, burns, bleeding cuts, and bruises coating his body. Suddenly, Deadlock became aware of the movement of that spiky boy's right hand.

"I wouldn't abandon even idiots like you to save others. I would fight with everything I have, to save everyone in my line of sight. Isn't that what any normal person would do?"

The sound of shattering glass echoed across the inside of the nuclear cooling tower. To Deadlock's shock, his body was suddenly given free will to move again. The odd pressure constricting his muscles like constrictors vanished as if it was never there. And it was all because of the tap that spiky haired boy's right hand on the now torn apart tarot glued to his chest.

"And if saving those people comes back to bite me in the ass, which I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to happen with my nonexistent luck, than I'll deal with that too. I'll take responsibility for my actions; Past, Present, and even Future. Without ever thinking about abandoning a single life for another." Touma grinned proudly.

Though Deadlock had free control of his body again, he found his battered knees hitting the concrete floor with a heavy thud. The Queen Diver boy couldn't push his body to move any further than it had. For some reason, he just couldn't muster up the strength to get back up.

Deadlock's body grew slack. He sat on his knees, defeated with a conflicted expression on his face. In his mind, there was one last ounce of fight left in him that argued with the words of that normal boy.

 _'Save everyone? Even a hero wouldn't save something that naive!Right? When was this idiot born; yesterday?! That kind of thinking is sure to get anyone killed! Something like that is just too impossible! Where's the justice!?'_

There was no justice.

That startling realization hit Deadlock like sledgehammer to the face. It all suddenly became clear to him as he stared at that high school boy.

That normal, dull, plain faced high school boy.

Kamijou Touma was no hero. It wasn't his job to save others. He didn't seem to care about things such as revenge or justice in the slightest. He wasn't special in any way compared to any one else walking in the busy streets he blended in far too well. He was just a high school boy who did whatever he wanted depending on how he was feeling that day.

There was no logical reason he had won against Deadlock that day, or today. It was just that on those days he had saw something he didn't agree with and acted on it. He decided to fight to save someone. It was as simple as that for him. There was no greater meaning for his fists knocking anyone of Deadlock's gang around than that.

If Kamijou Touma said he would rather save everyone, than he meant it. Because it was no more simpler to him than deciding whether to eat buttered toast this morning or a bowl of cereal.

To understand such reasoning would only drive someone mad. Because no one would ever be able to accept such simplicity without questioning their own actions.

Deadlock let out an exhausted sigh. This entire time, he had been placing a normal high school boy on such a high pedestal for nothing. Like admiring a random thug with a long list of criminal acts simply because he had pulled you back at the last second from getting hit by a car. It was idiotic.

If he thought about with the same line of thinking as that normal spiky haired boy; Deadlock had lost. That was that.

"Even though I was doing it for the good of others, it truly didn't matter. I lost." Deadlock said bitterly.

"For the good of others, huh? When the hell did we ever ask for this?" Stepping up beside the spiky haired shirtless boy, Hamazura glared down at Deadlock, "All we Level 0s wanted was for the city to stop treating us as lesser than them, to at least be recognized for trying our hardest to live up to their expectations! When the fuck did that mean we wanted to kill others for that wish?! If you ask me, you assholes are just projecting your own wishes onto us without even asking us what the hell we want!"

Hamazura was more than willing to finish what he started with Deadlock. Unlike the shirtless weirdo next to him, he was fine with putting a bullet between this assholes forehead. But after hearing all the crap Deadlock had been spewing, Hamazura wanted to say his piece to the dumb ass.

"As if anyone would want to be saved by an idiot like you. We'd rather save ourselves than plead for your reaching hand."

That was what the True Skill-Out was all about. Saving themselves instead of asking for help from those who thought they knew better for them. Call them what you will, but those who followed Komaba's leadership fought and acted on protecting others from such people.

When Hamazura looked at Deadlock, he suddenly realized that the scarlet suited boy wasn't worth killing. Unlike Dangan, who was truly a piece of shit; Deadlock was just some idiot who thought he knew better. Idiots like that only ever deserved an ass kicking. And another one until they learned to stop their bull crap.

Deadlock glanced at the blond haired Level 0, knowing perfectly well who he was. Hamazura Shiage, another Level 0 who fought under the name of Komaba Ritoku's so called just Skill-Out. Just a pawn in the eyes of those who stood above him. A grunt. One who had fought against someone far more skilled in combat and technique; and won. That Level 0 had no reason to win as he did. It seemed that time and time again, Deadlock found himself surprised by his fellow Level 0s. Those without power had done what he could not, and shattered their own limits.

In the end; was the one creating distortions, illusions, figments of imagination, false realities; Deadlock himself?

"You'll lose; against her, I mean." Deadlock spoke bluntly, greatly confusing Touma and the others. Now that he had lost the strength to fight against those abnormal Level 0s, he really didn't see any reason to hide what was proceeding beyond him. He considered it a reward to those powerless try hards who believed they could stop what was ready to unveil onto Academy City, "Unlike myself, and the other Skill-Outs who fell to sweet words, Mila-san's wish is something that can't be budged. As a Level 0, and a Child Error, she's been denied far too much for far too long to fall to even your words." he said evenly.

Touma's face scrunched up at the unfamiliar name. Mila-san? The way Deadlock spoke of her, it seemed she was who awaited them. The one who devised this entire plan of mayhem and chaos to flood the streets. The reason everyone had be caught up in some pointless conflict.

The one who stood ready to plunge this city into some unknown threat was another person hurt by the title of Level 0.

"Academy City is to blame for what's to transpire once Mila-san's completed the final preparations of the Level Eater. When the dust has settled, only those without power will remain, and the system of Espers will be broken by a monster of its own failure. Do you really think you can do anything to stop someone who's wet District 10 with blood with a smile for her own wish?"

"Not like I have a choice, do I?"

Normally one would be feeling anxious, doubting themselves in the face of the unknown threat that put all others until now to shame. Any normal person wouldn't be looked down upon for feeling such emotions.

Strangely though, Touma could still clench his fists tight and stare ahead, more than ready to jump into the final scene without any lingering doubts or fear. Just as he did when he charged into Aureolus's office. And with no doubt, just as he did when the previous Kamijou Touma had saved Index, and left this current Kamijou with following through in his stead.

"When all of this began, I never intended to see it through to face off against whoever created this mess. I never wanted to fight against delinquents. I never wanted to get involved in someone's master plan. I just wanted to find my friends again and keep them safe. I've completed half of that." Touma smiled, glancing back to see Angela and Index. That smile fell though as a scowl surfaced, "But I can't say the same for the second half. They're in danger if I turn my back now, along with everyone else who's caught in this bastard's carving path for some wish. I don't know what a normal guy like me could possibly do to stop this, but I can at least try to stop what's to come. Besides, as a Level 0, I have a right to deny whatever you idiots believe would be for our own good. Right?"

It didn't matter what the true meaning of all this was. All that mattered was that it didn't sit well with Touma. That was all he needed to charge in with his worn out fist ready to destroy whatever illusions awaited him.

In the face of Level 0s like him, the very ones Deadlock aspired to save from the world disillusioned by Academy City's expectations and lies, he found himself questioning what he was doing this whole time. After all the years of experimenting researchers had put them through, after all they had suffered through because of their ranking, those Level 0s still remained strong and resilient. They defied the label of Zero and showed a power Deadlock could only dream of. One he wasn't sure even Academy City could grant him with all their time and money.

A dry laugh broke out of Deadlock's cracked lips, surprising everyone as his body shook with his laughter. Even Deadlock was surprised by his own reaction to those Level 0s he had faced with and lost to.

"Maybe this is for the best? After all, this matter only concerns those who hold no true power in this world. Who am I to stop you from talking with another Level 0?"

Exhaling deeply, Deadlock leaned back in his sitting position, going as far as to cross his legs for more comfort. He didn't have it in him to fight any longer. Only an idiot would argue with idiots. He shut his eyes and reached for his tattered, burnt pockets, putting the others on edge. They all eyed the item in his hand; a small remote with several buttons that he pressed.

A slight rumble crawled over the cooling tower as the large gaping hole in the middle of the tower began to slowly rise up. A cylinder like section came up with a metal double door hidden from sight from prying eyes, now revealed to the surprised eyes everyone but Deadlock. It looked like some kind of elevator. Without opening his eyes, Deadlock smirked in amusement.

"Go. Though this tower works as a way to cool the heat born from the nuclear reactor, it's actual purpose is to hide the express elevator that will take you further down to a hidden facility where Mila-san and The Level Eater reside. Normally the elevator would be hidden, but it seems my finger has slipped."

With a worn out sigh, the scarlet suited mercenary made himself comfortable against the wall with a slight wince.

"I'm in no shape to continue any longer. I've done my part for as long as I could. If you really want to go, I won't stop you. Whatever happens, it's none of my concern any longer."

Before anyone could remark to Deadlock's lackluster response, the sound of alarm horns and flashing red lights erupted inside the storage room, coloring the space in a red warning filter. A slight rumble that crawled its way from deep within the building hit the entirety of the Hoshi reactor, alarming everyone as a large vent of hot steam rose from below. In the blaring alarms drowning all sound among the humid fog blanketing the tower, Deadlock opened his eyes to reveal a stern gaze of caution.

"You better hurry. Sounds like that french girl's ready to unleash her monster to the world."

Acting on the flashing red lights and sirens that spoke of danger, Deadlock could hear the rushing footsteps of those Level 0s move out to face the core District 10's razed streets. An annoyed sigh escaped him, feeling a single presence stay behind as the elevator door shut and fell down.

"Don't you think you should get a move on, clown?"

Touma stared at the unmoving mercenary, having left the others go ahead of him.

"What about you? Are you just going to stay here?"

"I can't move a muscle. All the adrenaline that's kept me going until now has left my system. If you're thinking of taking me along, think again. I'm dead weight that will slow you down."

"And. . .you don't want that?" Touma asked with a puzzled expression as he scratched his head. Wasn't the whole reason Deadlock had been fighting him been to get in his way for a fight?

Deadlock snorted, "I have no reason to anymore, right?"

Gritting his teeth, Touma felt disgust as he moved to leave the injured boy behind. Just earlier he had said he wouldn't leave anyone behind, and here was doing just that. No one knew what was to come next, but by the buildings alarms going off, it wasn't anything good. If they messed up, not only would Deadlock suffer in the wake, but all those who were knocked out and being roused by the security alarms would be in danger too. The best hope any them had of being able to walk out of this alive would be for them to stop the one responsible for this entire event to begin with.

That kind of thinking; wasn't it like Deadlock's?

As the metal doors opened to allow Touma to pass through and confront the final boss in wait, he was stopped for just a moment by the words of an old ghost from his past.

"When you face Mila-san, treat her as you did me. . .no matter how twisted and deformed she's become of her original weak self. Out of everyone in this world. . .I think only you could ever reach and guide that lonely girl's heart out from the depths of despair."

Without another word, Touma nodded firmly to the simple request before running off towards the others. Inwardly, he vowed to come back when this mess was over with. He'd be damned if his words to that Queen Diver boy were nothing but lip service.

Just like anyone else, he would fight to save that boy.

* * *

The doors shut slammed behind the departure of an average Level 0, finally leaving Deadlock to himself as the intermission drew to a close. The grand finale was ready to go with an uproar. The Queen Diver suited boy who wished to usurp the system and free those limited by the city's grasp found himself with a small, sincere smile on his lips.

Once again, Deadlock had lost to that spiky haired boy he had said was just a convenient illusion born from his own weak heart. To lose to Kamijou Touma should have brought an ugly bile to rise up his throat. He had desired nothing more than to defeat that weak illusion to prove to himself that he was in the right, that his own way of protecting others wasn't weak compared to that of a normal boys. That everything he had done wasn't for nothing.

Deadlock had overthought it. He had placed that normal clown on a pedestal that he told himself was just some figment of his imagination. Like everything else in his life, the Queen Diver boy had blamed all his failures on someone or something else. Convenient excuses born out of a refusal to admit to his own shortcomings and powerlessness. In the end though, he had found that the one creating the greatest distortions to his life, the one who had been at fault for his failure to break through his own limitations and attain a greater 'power', was none other then himself.

You could say that his illusions had been shattered. For once in a long time, Deadlock could begin to think clearly without the fog of excuses clouding his judgement.

A long winded, free, and relieved sigh escaped Deadlock's blood stained lips. Something felt like it had been shattered within himself. A. . .limit that had long eluded him for far too long.

"So, you let them go? I suppose I expected that when the person you were facing is known to purify the darkness within his opponents. I am surprised that you didn't think to mention me in any way. May I ask; why is that?"

Deadlock refused to meet the eyes of the sudden presence that appeared in front of him in a beam of blinding light that shimmered his body into existence in the wisp of steaming fog. Those cold, amused blue eyes staring at him told of untold wisdom that seemed to not match the innocent face the blond boy possessed. Everything about that boy seemed completely alien in the background of the city of science. As if his character didn't fit the sci-fi setting he was propped in.

"This is a battle between Zeroes. Those blessed with power all too similar to Level 5s have no right to be brought in where they don't belong." Deadlock said softly with scorn.

It was this boy, Arden, who was the true puppet master of this story. Even Mila herself was nothing more than a piece at that blond boy's disposal. To better explain it; all others were but pawns, Mila, the Queen. And Arden, the Chess Master.

Those Level 0s were better of not concerning themselves with the Hidden Boss beyond the Final Boss that put her to shame.

Arden tilted his head with a light hum, his face calm and innocent as he gazed at the wounded red suited boy too weak to lift even a finger.

"He saved you, didn't he? He shattered that illusion you created by your own hands and helped you to discover a road much lighter than the one you wandered in. As expected of my father. Always the savior."

Father?

Deadlock didn't have a chance to question the startling revelation from the blond boy as his eyes were flung wide open and his pupils dilated. Blood seeped out his gaping mouth as a gurgled scream only spat blood onto the floor. To his stunned belief, a blade of pure blinding light pierced through his chest, straight into the quaking core of his being. The thin blade of light was conjured from Arden's out stretched left palm.

Arden smiled brightly, matching the stunning bright blade from his palm that went against the cold action.

"That's good! I feel that even father had an inkling that you were now ready to reform yourself for the better. You were just another person who's world he had saved with that right fist of his. Though Toka-onee-san had a hand in that as well, but all the same in the end. But, sadly, I need you to die. So, play the part of a stepping stone, please? After all, I can't have any loose ends left when the dust settles." Arden asked far too sincerely for a killer.

Deadlock couldn't speak in the face of his demise. All he could do was utter a shuddering breath as he felt his heart give out its final beats.

"Don't worry, your death will not be in vain. Know that you will have helped to build up a great hero to face even greater and crueler threats than our friend, Mila-chan. This is all just a scripted Event so that the hero can gain even more EXP to Level Up. You were always nothing more than a bundle of EXP to the Main Player. An NPC that is never thought twice about in the Story. A mere grunt that rose to the title of Mini-Boss and nothing more. Just. . .a passing reference."

A grin with eyes full of sympathy and coldness was the last thing Deadlock's fading sight had seen.

"Welcome, Deadlock-san, to those Who The Right Hand Had Failed to Save."

With a shimmer of bursting light, the mysterious figure known as Arden faded away. Leaving behind the cold, still body of another Level 0.

* * *

The journey to the heart of District 10's dilemma had gone in silence with only the sounds of the reactor's security system blaring from within the metal shutter elevator. Everyone else had already gone ahead of Touma when he decided to stick around to talk to Deadlock for a bit before following along. Something he was fine with as he could finally have a moment to himself to rest in the middle of all the trouble he found himself in. To think, this had all started because he had woken up to seeing Angela's panties while sleeping in the bathtub. If that mature raven haired nun had only knocked, he would have never been dragged into this in the first place.

Touma couldn't help but sigh with a weary shake of his head at the strange series of events that lead him to preparing to face against someone who pitted an entire district of delinquents against each other. This was, what? The second time he was involved in some trouble that was better left to the pages of a manga? It seemed like this was just the norm for Kamijou Touma.

 _'What am I going to do exactly when I meet this 'Final Boss'? Other than my right hand, which really hasn't done much since all this began, I don't have any other means of fighting. Apparently this Mila person has something called a Level Eater, something that Deadlock mentioned will bring down Academy City's Esper Program. Just what the hell can I do against that?'_

Touma scratched his head furiously as he tried to come up with a plan of action when facing the challenge ahead. Could he really go in as usual, swinging his fist without any thought of what to do; other than punch? He wasn't exactly smart, not with how many remedial lessons he was forced to undertake because of his low scores in school; apparently the past Kamijou Touma hadn't been clever enough to keep him from summer classes. And he wasn't exactly cunning either; the past Kamijou Touma could only ever resort to solving his problems with violence, something that had been passed down to the Touma of now as if second nature. He was average to say the least; the past Kamijou Touma hadn't left him with anything to help him stand out from others or give him an edge other than a rotten right arm.

A troubled expression only grew on his face as Touma continued to think about what to do. His expression only grew twisted with a grimace as his right arm once again throbbed with a chilling pressure threatening to break out.

 _'Grrrggggggiiiiiiggggrriii.'_

Something seemed to demand to let go from Touma's right arm. The same arm that had once been lobbed off by a spinning sword. The same arm that had wielded an unseen abomination born from an Alchemist's fear.

Touma's back hit the wall of the spacious elevator as he continued going down, still fighting to figure out what to do as he felt his entire body cry out. It was only in this quiet space that he could finally feel the day's events hit him like multiple punches of varying damage. The pain felt like he was being swallowed whole by the jagged jaws of a great beast. Anxiety, trepidation, fear of failure; along with his injuries were ready to break him down with a nervous sweat.

' _When you face Mila-san, treat her as you did me. . .no matter how twisted and deformed she's become of her original weak self. Out of everyone in this world. . .I think only you could ever reach and guide that lonely girl's heart out from the depths of despair._ '

The invisible pressure that wished to lash out from Touma's right arm settled as Deadlock's words came back to him. Swallowing his self doubt, Touma narrowed his gaze as the elevator door dinged, alerting him that he had reached his destination. His fists balled up firmly.

That was right. He had already been told what to do by that ghost of his past. Actually, he had already known what he was going to do from the beginning. It was no different than when he was facing Aureolus.

Touma was going to fight. Simple as that.

Even if that plan of action was simply the urging of another ghost's leftover embers.

"Go on, Clown. Stage is that way."

Door sliding open, Touma had stepped out, only to trip over nothing as he could have sworn he felt something shove him ahead. Adding onto the large bill of injuries, he fell on his face with a groan muffled by the floor and a bruise forming on his forehead.

"God damn luck!"

Picking himself off the floor, Touma cursed his typical misfortune with a growl before continuing on.

Weird. For a second there, he could have sworn he felt a whisper from behind. Must have been the wind.

In an underground facility.

* * *

Having reached the bottom and walked through a wide corridor made of odd black steel that Touma could have swore could reflect light with how polished the surface was, he had soon made it to an automatic high tech door that would lead him to the others. Normally it seemed that to gain access to the room ahead, it appeared that a key card was needed to proceed. But to Touma's surprise, the doors opened without any hassle. He shrugged, not wanting to question it further as he walked in to find a control room full of high end equipment, monitors, and control panels displaying information and readings that went over his simple minded spiky head. He breathed a sigh of relief, finding Index and Angela along with the others. Along with a familiar face he had briefly met at the Food Stand Spire.

An angered Hamazura held Dr. Tatsum up with his hands balled up in the doctor's collar, appearing as if he had just heard that some news he wasn't hoping to hear. Dr. Tatsumi was staring with a paling face at the group gathered around him, seeming to have just explained what they were dealing with regret. Touma had missed the details, but he never less walked over to Hamazura and forced the disgruntled blond's hands off of the fearful head researcher.

Hamazura flinched as he felt the shirtless spiky haired boy's grip his wrist. What the hell? The weirdo looked battered more than they did! How was he able to keep such a terrifying grip when his hands appeared sprained from all the dark blue and green discoloration on his arm. He scoffed, dropping his grip from the bastard that had a hand in what was happening right now to District 10.

Ignoring the annoyed glare from the blond delinquent, Touma returned to Dr. Tatsumi to ask about what was happening. He frowned in confusion, finding the clean cut Level 0 researcher lean over the monitor nearby. The man's shoulders trembled with emotion, his body slouching in defeat and despair as Touma made out some odd readings on the screen of the monitor begin to rise alongside a window of emerald code.

"T-This. . .this was never my intention. The Reality Giver was meant to aid Level 0s in finally breaking past their limits to attain a Personal Reality, so they could finally be recognized for all their hard work. But this? This is nothing short of. . .of an abomination! Level Eater? Kihara? Devouring Personal Realities? Just what the hell were they trying to do with my creation!? What the hell's the purpose for such evil?!"

Dr. Tatsumi startled everyone as he slammed his clenched fist onto the keyboard, rattling the desk as his expression twisted into one of seething outrage. The dark clean combed scientist dragged his hand over his grimaced face.

"Even with a Kihara helping to reprogram and re-design Reality Giver with its Source Code, it shouldn't have been possible to gain this much progress in only a matter of an hour! Hell, this looks like they had it planned out days in advance and had a tour around my own mind! And what are with these readings? These specs aren't making any sense! It's like she's some kid who thought it would be a good idea to mix all the colors of her paints for a rainbow! Just. . .what the hell is she trying to do? Half of what I'm seeing doesn't even seem like science! It's as if whoever corrupted the machine mixed in something else that goes against everything I've been taught to believe in Academy City!"

Angela gazed at the bright computer screen, feeling troubled as well. While most of what she was seeing didn't make any sense to her from a magical stand point, she did catch some worrying text in the flow of information on display.

"Isa%iah&14#: 12-25. . .2+Corin thians11*:14. . .2Pe%ter2:4#. . .M athew%25:41?" Past those odd symbols, she could read the hidden words. Phrases like that did not belong with what Angela was seeing. They sounded far too familiar to her liking.

"What are Bible verses doing with all these numbers and weird terms?"

It was Index who came to the realization of the religious texts mixed in with scientific equations.

Dr. Tatsumi scowled irritably, "Bible verses? What are you talking about?"

Whatever Index was going to respond with was cut off by the computer screen flashing abruptly. A new screen of readings and measurements were displayed.

 _ **Brain Wave Scan Completion: 78%.**_

 _ **Radio Signals at 100%. Beginning Transmission.**_

 _ **Brain Wave Override. . .**_

 _ **Subject 1: Successful.**_

 _ **Subject 2: Successful.**_

 _ **Subject 3: Successful.**_

 _ **Subject 4: Successful.**_

 _ **Subject 5: Successful.**_

 _ **Subject 6: 67%.**_

 _ **Level Eater, Model Case:Ghoul now assimilating AIM Diffusion Fields.**_

 _ **Transmitting. . .Transmitting. . .Transmitting. . .**_

At the sight of the status of The Level Eater, Dr. Tatsumi found himself slouching in his seat with a soft, foul curse on his lips.

"It's far too late for me do anything this far in the process. I can't even perform a manual override from here! This room is just for monitoring the Reality Giver's progress as it copies pieces of an Esper's brain waves to help spurn a Level 0's Personal Reality with the help of those with similar brain patterns. To shut the machine down, we would need to switch over the Admin's authorization key to the main computer on my end."

"So, why don't you?" Hamazura growled from close by, more than ready to lay his hands on the researcher again, "Don't tell me you're too much of a coward to go in there and do a few lousy clicks!?"

"Don't you think I would have?!" Dr. Tatsumi spat as he stood up from his seat. He looked away from the children, his fingers gripping his tattered lab coat in frustration as his eyes landed on the door to the hanger that housed The Level Eater, "But for some reason, I can't! I've tried to override whatever locks and security is keeping the door shut, but nothing works. And I'm the one who set up the damn thing!"

Following Dr. Tatsumi's gaze, Touma found the door in question and grew suspicious. The white door itself had no handle of any kind to pull, it was mechanical sliding door with a touch screen displaying a digital keypad and finger imprint scanner. But what caught his eyes were the scribbles of ink that seemed to act like chains over the smooth frame of the door.

Angela noticed the writing as well. Just what was going on here? At first, she thought this just involved the Dark side of Academy City. But now she was catching hints of Magic involvement?

"Kamijou-san."

Touma didn't need to be told what to do. Walking to the door leading to the final stage of this mess, he placed his right palm over the writing, keeping it hovering as he spoke back to Dr. Tatsumi.

"Tell me, if we can switch the controls over to you here; can you shut whatever The Level Eater is down?"

Level Eater. It sounded ominous in name alone. It was this thing that laid past this door that had been the cause for all the death and blood Touma had walked across in his search for his friends? A product of some side of Academy City he had begun to catch eye of? A district of students who had given up on ever becoming anything more than Level 0 and blamed Academy City, had been transformed into a war zone that was almost reminiscent to hell?

It was taking everything in Touma's power to not smash his fist past the occult lock and smash his fist into the bastard who had caused so much despair and loss over a stupid toy.

Dr. Tatsumi wasn't sure what the shirtless, bruised and burned spiky haired boy could do, but he nodded.

"If you can activate the manual override, I can take control of the Administrator's privileges and sever her connection with the Hosts who's brain wave lengths she's overriding and copying. It'll take a while, but I can shut down. . ." Just saying what Dr. Tatsumi's pride and joy had become brought a sour taste to his tongue, "The Level Eater before it permanently devours the AIM Fields of the Espers it's taken a hold of."

That was all Touma needed to know before firmly pressing his right palm onto the magical text blocking their entry.

The sound of shattering glass indicated a negation and the door parted open without any struggle.

Dr. Tatsumi stared in disbelief along with the others who were ignorant of Imagine Breaker. To them, all Touma had done was touch the door. None of them had any idea that it was magic that had forbidden them from passing through.

"What. . .did you do?" the dark haired, spectacles scientist asked softly.

"What is that we need to do to override the main system's controls over to you?" Touma got straight to the point, not wanting to waste anymore time.

Shaking his head to get back to the important matter, Dr. Tatsumi quickly explained the process of logging into the main computer and entering the string of code to hand over The Level Eater's controls to him to begin the process of shutting it down. He had created a backdoor in case something like this had happened, having not placed too much trust in those who had aided him in his life long dream. It was a secret protocol to return absolute control back to him, known only to him and him alone. While much of what the researcher said to them was lost to them, they were lucky to have on hand a certain nun with a perfect memory. And while she had no idea how to input all the keys herself when she had no idea how to even work a simple cellphone, they did have a blond delinquent who had knack for hacking into machinery when needed. An average thug like him was just what they needed.

The task of dealing with the manual override laid with Index and a groaning Hamazura. Which meant the others were left to confronting the girl known as Mila.

Knowing that whatever awaited them would be dangerous, Komaba urged the pouting Fremea to stay back with Dr. Tatsumi. And while Fremea stomped her feet down and demanded to go too, complaining how unfair it was that the two Sisters could go and not her, she relented on one exception. The same exception she always asked of her best friend whenever he went off into some kind of trouble.

The little french girl in a frilly video game idol's clothes held out her small pinky finger to the towering, intimidating gorilla like man. Komaba smiled, kneeling down to offer his pinky. Fremea grinned happily before turning to one more person who stared with questioning eyes at the pinky being held up to him.

"What is it, Fremea-chan?" Touma asked, earning an eye roll from the small girl.

"Essentially, promise that you'll come back, Kamijou-onii-san! You have to pinky promise, or else it won't mean anything, nyaa!"

"Aww! I want a pinky promise too! What about your lovely Angela-onee-san!?"

"Why don't I get one? HEY! Don't stick your tongue out at me, you nya-nya brat!"

Ignoring the other two, Touma smiled kindly at the big, pouting blue eyes of the blond girl staring up at him on her tip toes. Curling his dirty, blood stained and cut up pinky against her dainty soft finger, Touma promised Fremea with the holiest and most treasured pacts a child could ask.

"I promise, we'll all come back in one piece. And I'm a man of my word."

"I think I'll stay back this time." Angela said as she stepped back from the group. Seeing a chance, she was quick to scoop Fremea in to her arms with a giggle as the little blond girl began to wriggle in her grasp, "I've used up far too much magic to be of any use. Besides, if something happens on this end, someone has to be there to help out in some way. With what little I can muster, I'll do my best to protect Dr. Tatsumi and Fremea-chan."

While Angela couldn't perform any of her greater spells like the Ten Commandments, she could still tip the scales of balance for some protective charms. She had enough training to maintain the backlash of continually tapping into her Saint abilities. She liked to think she had gained her endurance from her father in that regard.

"You won't be the only one."

Toka blinked, finding herself for some reason being grabbed by the back of her school uniform and pushed back alongside her older sister. She gaped, finding the sternly scowling face of Hamazura as the culprit.

"Hey! What the hell's your deal?! Don't think you can just bar me from the action! I may be a normal high school girl, but I can still punch that bastard's lights out!" Toka complained, moving to follow the others.

Hamazura clicked his teeth in annoyance before poking Toka's forehead.

Toka blinked, this time to get rid of the dizziness as she slightly stumbled. Thanks to Angela holding her shoulder, she didn't fall.

"W-What?"

"You're far too injured to do a thing right now. I may have been the one who'd been electrocuted, but you're the one who's been running around all day stacking up injuries. Like you said, you're a normal high school girl. Do something useful and help the nun guard the lab coat and brat." Hamazura explained plainly.

Whatever weird ability Angela had used on them cleared up the worst of their wounds. But that didn't mean that they were a 100%. Even Hamazura could still feel his body ache. Meaning that the unruly haired high school girl was much worse off. And he couldn't for the life of him allow that special girl who caused this lowly Level 0 to stand up to fight put her life at risk.

"But!"

"He's right." Touma cut in, stepping up to Toka and gingerly placing his hand on her shoulder. He looked to the girl softly, knowing how she must feel to want to help. He was the same way. "Who knows what may happen? I'd feel better if you and Angela-san stayed back to watch over Dr. Tatsumi and Fremea-chan. Besides, you really are in no condition to go charging in like an idiot."

"And what about you!?"

Touma stepped back at the outburst. The frustrated cry made him grimace as Toka glared at him.

"Hey Kettle, my names Pot! Aren't you even worse off? Compared to you, I'm the one who's better off in your stead! I'm not the who's every inch of skin is covered in some kind of wound or burn! I'm not the one who keeps running off to play the hero! Don't you think it's about time someone else took up that cursed mantle and let you rest for once!? Why do you always have to be the one to fight?"

She was right. Toka was absolutely right. Compared to everyone else in their party, Touma was the one most injured and ill fit to be fighting. It was purely stamina and willpower that was keeping him running this far. If he were to rest, fully let go of the reigns, he wasn't sure he would be getting back up on his feet.

Touma knew that. Call him an idiot, but he was still far off from being brain dead. What he was telling Toka to do was nothing short of hypocrisy.

And for whatever reason he couldn't understand, he only felt he had all the more reason to act like a hypocrite with Toka.

"Because this is the only way I know." Touma smiled bitterly to Toka and Angela's displeasure, "I can only ever resolve the problems happening right in front of me with my right fist and a fight. It's not something I'm proud of, and it's not something I want, but it's something I got to do. Because I would be betraying the Me that can't stand to stand by and allow others to get hurt."

The urge to jump into the fray with a fist to protect the smile of a single person. . .was that. . .that urge even his to own? Was that desire even what Touma wanted, and not the lingering whispers of who Kamijou Touma had been? Having played the greatest act of them all, standing in the spot light of Kamijou Touma as he was lost in one of his ventures to save someone from suffering, Touma couldn't even say that what he wanted were his wants.

But even so, with doubt creeping into his heart, his fist never relaxed and only tightened with resolve.

"You're right, I'm no condition for another fight. I should have honestly passed out by now. But I'm going to anyway. Because that's what this heart of mine screams at me to do. That part of me. . .I have to listen to it no matter what. And I can't fight with all my heart if I'm worrying about what would happen to others not in my line of sight. So, can you listen to this selfish, hypocritical, high school boy's wish; and watch over everyone here for me? Please?"

Toka hated it. That honest, sincere plea from the man who inspired her to follow after his shadow made her bite her lower lip. She couldn't deny Touma. That hero she loved with all her heart had always sacrificed himself with no reward and nothing to ask for. The one time he asked for something, something so simple, she couldn't deny it.

With a grudging sigh, Toka nodded and stepped back alongside Angela. Like her father, Toka's own heart told her to go into the fight, but she set aside her desire for once. Not as if she needed to get involved anyway. A brief smile came to her face, watching Touma's face relax.

All she had wanted was to ease her father's heavy shoulders. For the moment, this would have to do.

"Just come back, you damn idiot."

A soft, comforting, oh so longed hand patted Toka's head. One she had hoped could last forever before it faded like it did in her time.

No more words were said. The door shut behind Touma, Index, Hamazura, and Komaba as they entered to the core of this district's chaos. The stage had been sent, the actors had arrived, and the lights were set.

It was time for the grand finale to commence.

Let those without power clash.

* * *

Stepping in, the Touma found himself within in a large hangar that he would normally guess housed aircraft's, a smooth black marbled floor in contrast to the while ceiling of the large spacious hangar that extended several power cables down. The cables connected to only one machine as the power source drawing from the cables seemed to come from the nuclear tower's reactor. The machine itself was made of an alabaster white metal that resembled an egg, stood at the height of a small townhouse, and grounded by two arm like supports. A single burning red lenses was placed at the center of the machine, seeming to glare at the intruders. It was centered in the room on a circular platform with several computer desks lined around it to monitor its progress with one lone desk with three screens kept far from the others by itself, serving as the main controller.

Touma frowned, finding six container like tanks lined in an arc behind the machine, filled with an odd green liquid, and weirdly shaped silhouettes. Each container had a set of cables running to connect with the platform where the machine stood along with a golden antenna atop the glass containers.

As they walked closer to the main computer to begin the manual override, they all made out the writing running down the machine. It was Index who could understand the English writing as the only one fluent in the language.

"Level Eater, Model Case: GHOUL?" The name alone caused a shiver to run down Index's spine.

Names held in important meaning in magical affairs. From their spells to Magic Names, to Spiritual Items and Soul Arms, names held power. And she didn't like the name associated with The Level Eater.

A Ghoul was a being that consumed the flesh of humans in Arabic tales; a grave robber that absorbed the abilities of those it feasted on.

Hamazura couldn't help but scowl tensely in the presence of the machine. This was what all the fighting and bloodshed had been about? Why? Why was some hunk of metal connected by cables so important? And why did he feel so uneasy out by it? Shaking his head, he decided to ignore it and just get down to business.

"Let's hurry up and get the manual override going. I don't really want to stick around this place for another second. By the time we've finished, I just know Anti-Skill and Judgment will come busting in and blame us for all this crap."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about them. I've made sure to keep all the city officials and their little soldiers occupied. After all, don't you think it was odd that no one came to this district to stop all the fighting?"

The giggle from a young girl caused Hamazura to jump back in fright. Everyone's head swiveled in search of the owner of the giggle, finding no one but themselves and The Level Eater in the hangar. Coming to a conclusion, they faced the ominous machine as they once again heard the voice speak.

"Hello there, Komaba Ritoku and friends! May I ask what the humble leader of Skill-Out is doing here? I would have thought you would have been busying trying to regain control of your underlings. Or at least wound up dead like the rest of them. I suppose relying on others who hold no true power either to finish you off was wishful thinking." the female voice huffed as the red eye of The Level Eater grew an intense red like scorched metal, "But they at least served to distract everyone from my plans. Oh, if only you hadn't placed such rules and regulations on the unlawful Skill-Outs, than I wouldn't have had to drag you all into this mess. And it looks like you've dragged along others as well?"

Komaba's features never changed, remaining stern like the surface of a rock.

"Mila-san, I presume? You were the one who sent over Deadlock to persuade us to join your cause. Are you saying, that if I had joined along with you, none of this bloodshed would have occurred on our streets?"

Mila hummed from within The Level Eater, "Correct. When I had this plan devised, I had planned on enlisting you first to better move about District 10 and go about setting up the final touches. You're control over a majority of Level 0s was needed to help with distracting Anti-Skill and Judgment from my capture of the Hoshi Reactor, but you denied my generous offer. You were an important piece to the plan, but since you weren't keen on following along, I had to dispose of both you and your gang to keep you from getting in the way. After all, when those weak little monkeys grow even a bit too rowdy on the playground, it's the big, bad, Gorilla who reigns them in with an iron fist."

Without seeing the mastermind's face, they could picture a wide grin on the girl's face as she spoke sweetly.

"If I was to let those monkeys go wild, I first needed to get rid of the gorilla who unfairly treats them to behave with the same morals as the humans who bully them in their cage. I was hoping you would be drowned in the sea of violence."

"That's why you had all our guys killed?! Because we didn't want to go along with your bullshit?!" Hamazura yelled, "The fuck's your problem, you bitch?! You're a Level 0 like the rest of us, right? Than why would murder your own kind and say that it's for our own good?!"

"Oh! I suppose you were able to speak to Deadlock-kun before you disposed of him. Let me guess, he told you all of how this entire venture was for the good of all Level 0s? That this was to bring down the unjust system created by Academy City that was unable to grant our wishes to gain supernatural powers that they promised us time and time again? And that we simply wanted to free those who were looked down upon by the city to stand on equal ground with even those Level 5s?"

A snort. From within the cold machine hooked by several cables, a snort was heard. That snort quickly transformed into laughter that bellowed from The Level Eater's body.

"D-Don't tell me!? Did you actually believe all that sweet honeyed candied words?! Oh, my! I would have thought you who turned down my offer would have guessed that it was just sweet little lies! Saving other Level 0s? Control over District 10? The Power Curriculum Program? Justice? Who cares about that!?"

The roar of laughter coming through the ghoulish machine filled the hangar, spitting on the many bodies it has used to be where it stood.

"You used them?"

Mila's laughter stopped at the voice of a trembling shirtless spiky haired boy. She grew silent, finding her voice leaving her as she found a familiar set of dark blue eyes full of anger staring at her.

"This entire time, you were just using those misguided delinquents for your own schemes?! You lied to their faces, had them give up their lives, and played them all for fools! And for what?! For some piece of junk that was stashed away in the ground?! What the hell were those Level 0s worth to you?!"

". . . . .Didn't I warn you to leave this district and seek safety, Kamijou-san?"

Touma's eyes went wide in shock. His body locked up, frozen as that mysterious girl's voice resonated with his memories. That voice, it had sounded oddly familiar. His face grew an ugly grimace, despising the rise of images that the master mind of District 10's bloodshed had brought up. He had only heard it once when he had been resting while searching for Index and Angela, speaking to him of the worth of the number Academy City had placed on them. A pretty faced foreign girl with blonde platinum hair who had helped to patch up his wounds.

He had never gotten the kind blonde girl's name. Not until now.

"You're. . .Mila-san?" he said unbelievably with a paling face.

Mila sighed irritably at the sight of the spiky haired boy. He was a complete stranger by all means. The only reason she knew his name was because she had stolen his wallet in case he needed to be eliminated. And despite how she had killed others without so much as a thought, he was someone she didn't want involved in this mess. Kamijou Touma appeared to be an average Level 0, one who was happy with his status and lived happily with being worthless. Meeting him was a pleasant memory.

It was why she had advised him to leave once he found his friends. She had even sent a message over to those Skill-Outs guarding the border of District 10 to allow a Touma to leave. Deadlock was suppose to inform those under her command to watch out for that one Level 0 who fit her description to be left alone. Going by that boy's appearance, her message hadn't gone through.

Mila had many questions at the moment, but one stood out to all others despite the tense and dramatic atmosphere. She couldn't help it, she had to ask.

"Why are you shirtless?"

"This is literally not the time to be asking that question right now!"

"How can I not when your chest is out in the open, dirty, naked, and with sweat running down your pecs to your waist line! I swear that your chest muscles are glistening! I can even see a bead drip to your navel!"

"Don't go into detail about it! Learn to read the god damn rooooooooooooom!"

No one could see, but Mila's face was painted a bright cherry red as her green eyes roamed that spiky boy's chest. She had to admit, he had a nice build for an average boy.

Shoving his embarrassment deep down, Touma stepped up to The Level Eater with a puzzled frown.

"Mila-san, what the hell are you doing? When we met, I knew you weren't happy with being a Level 0. The way you spoke about our Level made it clear that you thought it was unfair and cruel. But. . .this? Pitting other Level 0s against each other to the point of killing each other? What the hell are you trying to accomplish with this!? If you never had any intention of helping Level 0s to be free of their status, than what has this bullshit been for?!" Touma yelled in outrage.

The Level Eater's eyes suddenly gleamed with a malevolent red light. A change began to overcome the machine as it began to lift up from the platform by an unseen force. As it levitated, the party made out a glowing purple stand at the bottom of the tear drop machine that ended in a jack like spike with three red rings. The power cables continued to hang off The Level Eater by its back, shaking as it ripped out its two side bearings that kept it still. Seeing the tear drop shaped machine move caused everyone to step back as its gleaming red eye glared down at them.

Index stared at the machine, only to be grabbed by her sleeve. She turned to find the shaggy blond delinquent, Hamazura, gesturing her to follow. She nodded firmly, knowing what he had in mind now that they witnessed The Level Eater act.

"What's this all been for; you ask? Kamijou-kun, I thought you already knew? It's nothing all too complicated really. To be honest, I'm not like those Skill-Out idiots who attack Espers for their gifts. I actually admire those who've been able to gain an Ability after working so hard for it. I've never really felt jealous, nor have I blamed them or hated them for their wishes being granted. The fault doesn't lay with the students; it lays with Academy City."

Responding to the change in The Level Eater's movement, the six cylindrical containers containing wispy silhouettes began to emit an emerald glow that cast an eerie aura over the machine's body. Other than floating in the air, The Level Eater didn't move as it was still attached by the cables running from the ceiling and its six containers behind it.

"It was Academy City that had made a promise to my family. They told my parents that they could grant their only daughter power that could only be coveted by their peers. That they could make me more than just human, but a marvel they could proudly show off to others! They said that I had the potential to be an Esper! And my parents bought into their sweet promises, so much so they shipped off their eight year old daughter to another country who's language she didn't understand! And what do those lying bastards do? They label me a Level 0, Someone Without Power!"

A forceful burst of wind lashed out The Level Eater's body, crashing against Touma and the others in response to Mila's scream. Touma grunted, moving his arms to shield his face from the powerful gust before the all too familiar whine of Imagine Breaker sounded of. The winds crashing into him shattered, leaving them to pass him by like a rock to a stream.

 _'Imagine Breaker negated the wind? How? It should only react to a supernatural power. Does that mean that the machine is producing some kind of ability?'_

Wait. Were machines even capable of something as complicated and unique as a Personal Reality? Wasn't that something reserved to humans?

The storm like winds ceased a moment later after pushing Komaba back. It was than that Mila noticed to things out of place. One; Touma hadn't budged an inch even after The Level Eater had absorbed several the AIM of several Espers. And Two; she didn't spy the out of placed silver haired nun or the blond delinquent. The Level Eater's monitor was quick to spot the two missing party members. Mila's eyes narrowed in suspicion, finding them furiously typing away at the main computer that was in charge of a large range of settings to The Level Eater.

So, they were trying to activate the manual override, where they? She couldn't help but grin.

From thin air, a clear flesh like substance formed at the sides of The Level Eater that molded into lanky, boney arms with an aqua like substance inside. Having produced its own AIM Dispersion Field, The Level Eater took the chance to flex its long fingers.

"At first, I endured the label as everyone else who found themselves as Level 0s did. It was common to be labeled a Level 0 anyway, one had to study and work towards leveling up. So, I did. For years and years, I put my mind on the grindstone, studying into the late hours of the night, taking whatever drugs the researchers gave me, took their exhausting tests to strengthen my mind; and no matter how many times I failed, I tried again. And again. AND AGAIN! But no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, now matter how much I wished for it, I could never improve! I was fed nothing but empty lies from the beginning. And do you know what it cost me!?"

The same clear, aqua like substance inside The Level Eater's arms erupted from its back in the form six ribbons that waved behind it like wings. The eerie form the machine had taken sent goosebumps along Touma's skin. The way it appeared seemed. . .otherworldly. Mila hadn't made any hostile moves yet, seeming to be focused only on him. That was good. With her focus on him, that left Hamazura to safely listen to the string of code Index had memorized to switch control over to Dr. Tatsumi.

Mila seethed within The Level Eater as the cables it was connected to trembled. Her voice quivered, for a moment revealing the hurt, vulnerable emotions of a girl.

"My family. Because of Academy City, I was abandoned by my own mother and father! All they could see was a number, a symbol of failure that was worthless in their eyes! I became a Child Error at the age of ten, left all alone with no way to go home, and no one to take care of me. I survived on the city's stipends without my parents allowance, and had to learn to take care of myself. I found out that day that I was worth nothing to anyone. All because of those who run Academy City and lure in test monkeys with false promises. The ones I truly hate, despise, and detest, is Academy City! So, you ask me why I played all those Level 0s into fighting with false promises? Simple."

"Revenge."

The final stage of The Level Eater's transformation came in the form of the clear skin hinted substance growing over its body and devouring its metal frame with a bluish aura. On both sides of the machines center red lens, an eye formed with the white of its eyes blood red and its pupil glowing magenta. A toothless mouth formed below its eyes, snapping open wide in a cruel grin as if it was relieved to finally breath. To finish its growth off, a broken series of segments circled around the tip of its body with a golden, glitching glow. Its new formed resembled a burning ball of energy given a cruel face.

"FUCK! That should have overridden the The Level Eater System control! Are you sure you memorized what that lab coat guy told you, Sister?"

Slamming his fist onto the computer top, Hamazura growled as all the code he had been instructed to input failed to activate the manual override. What the hell does Error 403.3 even mean?

Index wanted to argue with the blond delinquent, knowing that she had perfectly memorized everything Dr. Tatsumi had instructed her. But her eyes were too focused on the form The Level Eater had taken. A cold sweat formed on her paling face as she stared at the ghastly, corrupted, twisted image of a holy figure created by science.

She wondered; if anyone knew that they were in the presence of an angelic being.

Mila's disembodied voice giggled through The Level Eater's ghoulish gaping mouth.

"Oh? Did you think that you could simply stop The Level Eater by switching the Administrator's privileges onto another user? I'm sorry to say, but my friend Arden and his brothers, Shinzo-san and Hachi-san, had placed measures to assure that the upload of my brainwaves to The Level Eater System wasn't interrupted. Why else did you think I left Dr. Tatsumi alive? Hachi-san's unique ability had done more than enough to take what we needed from the researcher's mind to prevent that back door protocol. I am surprised that you made it in at all. Arden swore that no one could possibly enter." she mused.

Manipulating the left arm of The Level Eater, Mila grabbed a hold of the power cables supplying the machine's energy and tore them off like weeds with one ripping motion. The cables fell to the ground with a loud thud as the robotic being of AIM breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief. It no longer needed to siphon the energy the plant created to keep it running any longer. Not when it was in the process of draining all the energy it could possibly need from the living batteries that resided in the city that had bore it.

"So, this is The Level Eater, Modelcase: GHOUL? I didn't think it was possible for Arden and Shinzo to drastically change what was essentially a tool to help develop Level 0s AIMs to gain a Personal Reality, into this." Mila marveled as she flexed the skinny finger joints of The Level Eater, "I must say, even from the confines of the machine, I feel oddly free. They said my mind would be connected with the machine to allow me better control, but I didn't think I would actually feel as if I was the machine. And this is only with the devoured Levels of a measly six Espers? Imagine what it'll feel like when I devour double that!"

"What are you going to do now, Mila-san?"

The Level Eater motioned it's eyes to fall back on Touma, finding the boy had come closer within just a short running distance from it. Mila frowned lightly at the sight of the boy who proclaimed himself as a common Level 0. She would have to argue with that. No common Level 0 would confront the monstrosity that was The Level Eater with such a fierce gaze.

Mila had only just met Touma, but in their short conversation, she had gotten a glimpse of who the boy was. He was someone who simply wanted to live his life as a normal high school boy. Even with being labeled a Level 0, he didn't let it define him or get in the way of his daily life. If anyone, he seemed a bit down on his luck to be involved in her plans. She couldn't help but wonder how he of all people stumbled into her plans.

"I told you, this is about revenge. It's Academy City's fault for my family abandoning me. And I intend to make them pay with the only currency they could ever possibly understand. Destruction!"

Spreading its arms out wide, The Level Eater opened its palms to summon a small whirling gust on each hand. The winds, the size of a small child each, were strong enough to send strong breezes to swarm around the room and rustle their clothes.

"That's what this has been leading up to! The destruction of Academy City's lying foundations with a rampage fueled by my wrath! Recognition? Respect? Equality? Freedom? Retribution? Justice? I don't give a damn about any of that crap! What I want is to make them suffer for all the suffering they had caused me! So, I'll devour every last once of AIM from those lucky students those bastards oh so treasure, to rid the symbol of my suffering; The Windowless Building where a certain Board Chairman sits! And once I bring down the bastard responsible for The Power Curriculum Program that lead to my parents to shipping me away, I'll turn to the researchers and their facilities. I'll destroy everything this false city of hope has created to lure in more naive children, and even then it won't be enough to quench my thirst for revenge!"

With a flick of The Level Eater's wrist, she had compressed the winds on her left hand and sent a whirling blade of air in front of her. The blade raced against the ground like cutting steel and flew in between both Touma and Komaba to slam into the wall behind them. A large scar marred the wall as both Level 0s stared in disbelief at the display of power.

"And I won't allow anyone to get in the way of that most cherished wish."

The spiky haired Level 0 was someone Mila had found herself fond of despite how little she knew of him. She honestly didn't want to have him dragged into this any further than he found himself in. But if he stood in her way, than just as she did with the others, she would get rid of him.

Touma stared at the ground, his face shadowed by his spiky locks as his shoulder's trembled. Gritting his teeth openly in frustration, he found his fist clenching and unclenching.

Revenge? The war on the streets? The acts of indiscriminate violence? The blood painting the alleys and bullets littering the road? It had all been for something as petty and useless as revenge this entire time? He had been caught up in this crappy scenario just because one girl had wanted to make some faceless figures she had never met before pay for her own tragedies?

"How?"

Mila stared curiously at Touma, finding the spiky haired boy speak softly she that she almost didn't hear him in the roar of the winds she created.

"HOW CAN YOU CALL SOMETHING SO WORTHLESS A WISH!?"

To the shock of everyone in the room, Touma had sprung off the floor with a furious shout on his lips, charging ahead with his right fist cocked and loaded.

Mila scowled distastefully at the charging boy but paid him no mind. If he had been smart or valued his life, than he would have run away by now at her threat. Instead he runs at her like some idiot? What could he possibly do? Sighing sadly, Mila commanded the ghoulish mechanical AIM Burst to swing its right hand, sending a wall of rushing winds to send Touma flying.

The blunt trauma alone would be enough to mangle his limbs. If Touma had any luck at all, he'd be alive to cry about it.

But to her disbelief, the wall of winds were snuffed out as Touma stretched his right hand out to met the attack. An unseen crack spread along the monstrous winds and caused them to creak. With a sound of shattering glass, the Level 4 Aero Ability she had was. . .negated?

It had to be a miscalculation! Maybe one of the six Espers connected to the Level Eater had lost focus? There had to be some explanation. Raising Level Eater's left arm, she raked the air to send a tearing wave of cutting winds to end his idiocy.

Touma's right hand batted the tearing winds away with a simple slapping motion and the sound of breaking glass. Once again, the ability Mila had devoured with Level Eater had been negated without any effort.

"W-What. . .WHAT ARE YOU!?" Mila yelled uncertainly with rage.

Reaching a good distance, Touma leaped up and reared his right fist back in the face of the ghoulish ability robber.

"I'm just a Level 0 who's going to take apart that stupid wish with his so called powerless fists!"

Level Eater moved to slap Touma out of its face, only for its hand, made of AIM, to wither away as the Level 0 drove his right fist through it. Plowing through the arm, his knuckles met the face of Level Eater with enough force to do what it had intended; send it flying back. Landing back on his feet, Touma watched the ghoulish machine slam into the back of the room with a crash of steel on steel. He grimaced while noting the ominous aura acting as its skin flicker to nothing for a short moment.

It was only thanks to Hard Taping's amplified effects on his arm that he could even send something like that back with one punch. That punch sent a splitting sensation up his entire arm; from knuckle to shoulder.

Gaining back its AIM Field, Level Eater floated back up into the air with a snarl on its toothless lips.

"You actually canceled the Level Eater's Aero ability?" Mila asked in a daze. Regrowing the shattered arm, she clenched its fist. "That shouldn't be possible! I've collected the abilities of six Aero users! Their winds are strong enough to cut through steel! With the gathered conscious of those six Espers, I can calculate how to properly control those winds to deal devastating attacks! How is it that a Level 0 like me can negate my power!?"

"That isn't your power."

Stepping up again to Level Eater's haunting gaze, Touma ignored the splitting pain crawling up his arm and aimed his hand at the machine of stolen AIM.

"It's the stolen power of students who have worked to the bone to achieve their Personal Reality. It doesn't belong to you so you can twist their realities for something as pointless as revenge! You have no right to distort what they've gained just because you're suffering!"

"No right?!" Mila yelled in gall before performing a raking uppercut in front of her, firing a long blade of compressed air to cut along the ground and race towards Touma. Like before, the deadly blade that should have cut him in half was negated with a swipe of his right hand. Again, she fired several more blades to dice him to pieces.

"I have every right to use the same gifts that I had coveted for so long! While I have nothing against Espers who have realized their wish for power, that doesn't mean I don't find it unfair that they had their wishes heard! What about my wish?! Why couldn't I have been so fortunate to have even gained a measly Level 1 ability? All I wanted was to gain something, something I could build up, to prove that I wasn't worthless in their eyes! No matter how hard I tried though, I could never improve even a bit in my System Scan."

The fury swipes of slicing winds were like a barrage that found themselves solely focused on Touma. He grit his teeth, evading and negating the air blades that nearly cut his body to pieces. He ducked under one guillotine like breeze; stepped to the side of another after negating one that was aiming to cut his left arm off, and jumped over the sweeping winds flying for his legs before swinging his right hand in an arc in the face of three wind blades. His breathing grew heavy through the barrage of wind attacks as he ran ahead to beat the machine with all his strength.

"And that gives you the reason to take the abilities of others? To use the bodies of students who have suffered like you? How is that fair?! They're innocent, they don't have anything to do with your revenge! Why must they suffer because you didn't get what you wanted?!" he roared.

Growing fed up with her attacks being brushed off by one measly hand, Mila commanded Level Eater to fly after Touma. She took the high school boy by surprise as she flipped it over, aiming the spiked headphone like jack like an impaling spear. If her gained ability wouldn't have any effect, how would an attack by something that wasn't psychic in nature fare?

"Kamijou!"

"Got it!"

In Mila's focus on the spiky haired boy, she had forgotten about the silent party that was with him. A mistake that would cost her.

Touma didn't think about dodging, relying on his body to act on its own. At the very last second that Level Eater's spiked jack would stab through his face, he dropped on his knees and slid underneath the large ghoulish machine. His right hand's fingers went up as Level Eater passed him by, brushing against the AIM Field it had stolen from six Espers and negating its powers for a moment.

Mila scowled furiously until she was taken back by the appearance of an intimidating, stern faced man in a leather jacket and pants appearing overhead. Komaba Ritoku had used the Hard Taping in his legs to amplify his speed and jumping power to reach Level Eater in its vulnerable moment. Raising his leg up high, he slammed the heel of his foot down as hard as he could into the alabaster white metal with a metal clang. The heel drop sent Level Eater crashing down and shattered the mirror like black surface below.

Regaining Level Eater's ethereal body, Mila flung Komaba up into the air with a burst of twisting wind from its body. The stern faced gorilla man flinched as he felt a few nicks appear on his leather jacket along with a cut or two on his face. He flipped back in the air, dodging a clawed hand that was coated with tearing winds before landing on his feet. It was at this time that the leader of Level 0s felt the need to take out a weapon to better fight against Level Eater.

Reaching for the back of his waist, Komaba swung his arm to reveal a large blocked pistol, the flourish of the firearm causing a hidden barrel to extend with the length of his arm while six cylinder's grew out. The weapon was known as the B20 Grenade Launcher, an explosive launching firearm that's main feature and appeal was its ability to collapse for easier carry around and concealment. Along with its six chambers, it was made of a light weight metal for just about anyone to use. And while Komaba tried to avoid killing when it wasn't needed, he still believed it was a good idea to carry some kind of explosive power when dealing with students who could conjure and manipulate fire.

Aiming the barrel of the B20 grenade launcher at the ghoulish machine, Komaba steadied his aim amid Mila's giggle.

"Are you serious? What can that little toy do to me?! I'll just slice whatever grenades you shoot at me!" Mila goaded smugly.

Komaba didn't respond, simply smirking as his finger tickled the trigger.

Did she forget that she wasn't fighting one Level 0?

Mila felt a disturbance in the AIM Dispersion Field that made up Level Eater. It was far too late to act before Level Eater once again lost its connection to The Level Eater System and the AIM it was consuming from the Espers. She didn't need to know who was responsible for what should have been impossible.

The very second Komaba had witnessed Touma negate Level Eater's AIM, something he still couldn't wrap his head around or understand, the gang leader fired off three grenade shells in rapid succession. Mila could only watch the large metal explosives soar after the Level Eater's body in its window of vulnerability, rocking her body from the inside as the machine was consumed in smoke and flames.

The time it took for Level Eater to regain its connection to its system was .21 seconds. That was how long Mila had calculated it had taken in the three times she had lost the connection. Before her precious machine could hit the ground, it restored its Aero ability to float and disperse the flames and smoke with a whirl of wind. Mila grit her teeth with a flinch, quickly growing infuriated.

It was official. She was pissed.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIIIIIEEEEEE!?"

A tempest of spiraling winds erupted from Level Eater's ghoulish body, spreading to form a hurricane like wall that circled and spun around it. The black metal floor was marred by gashes as the hurricane grew to the height of the hangar's ceiling in its attempt to engulf all those Level 0s in her way. Surely even what could be a literal hurricane created by psychic winds would be enough to kill one measly Level 0.

Shielding their faces from the stinging winds from the spreading hurricane gales, Komaba, Hamazura, and Index found their bodies being pulled in. They fought to ground their feet but only ended up skidding forward against their will.

The only one to not fight the pulling winds was Touma. Eyes fighting to remain open against the stinging winds hitting his face, he let his body get dragged forward, flying towards the wall of shredding winds with his right hand aimed forward. He ignored the few new cuts along his already wounded body, focusing solely on driving his fist against the grinding force.

Anything supernatural was automatically destroyed when in contact with Imagine Breaker. Not even a hurricane created by supernatural phenomenon stood a chance on the bane of all things with corrupted harmonies.

Mila swallowed a scream of fury as she witnessed the spiky haired Level 0 endure the tearing winds to be pulled within the eye of the storm, his right fist rocketing forward and dispelling both her hurricane and Level Eater's powers. She went on the defensive, seeing Touma fall to the ground with the loss of the pulling winds into a roll and get back on his feet. Creating a spiraling funnel around the arm of Level Eater, she fired the twister like spear at the spiky haired boy. But even with enough force to tear along the ground below, the twister was dispersed by a simple reach of Touma's right hand.

"WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND!?" Mila screamed before going on another approach of attack.

The ribbon like green wings on Level Eater's back arced, locking onto its targets to rain down like heat seeking missiles with edged tips. Her Aero ability wasn't working properly, that had to be it! She just needed a little more time to fine tune the calculations she was being provided is all! So, what about an attack of pure AIM?

In Mila's blind rage of the impossible, she had forgotten how easily the body of AIM Level Eater took was shattered just as her ability had been.

Touma went on the evasive, moving in a combination of dodges and deflections with his right hand as most of wings of AIM focused on impaling him. The floor around him was littered with piercing holes by the missed wings. But those false angelic wings weren't solely meant for him.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

Sweating profusely, Hamazura, who had no ability whatsoever, scrambled to dodge the tethered green edged ribbons. Something that wasn't so easy when he was carrying a silver haired nun on his back like a backpack. He couldn't help but be annoyed that he was left to babysit a nun who just as worthless as he was.

"It's an Angel!"

Angel? Hamazura wanted to laugh, but found himself back stepping from a stabbing wing.

"That thing?! Aren't angel's suppose to be beautiful winged hotties with big breasts?!"

. . .Exactly what kind of angel's was the blond delinquent thinking of? Obviously not the kind who preached god's holy words.

Even though Index wished nothing more than to treat Hamazura to the Touma Treatment, she instead focused on the corrupted holy being attacking them.

"It has all the symbols of an Angel. What signifies an angelic body is not the features, but its wings and halo! Even though the wings and halo it possess aren't complete and twisted, it is without a doubt a being that dwells in the heavens!"

Bullshit. Hamazura was calling utter bullshit. There was no way that thing was similar to angels!

Feeling a wing graze his calf, Hamazura grit his teeth as he felt blood run down his leg. He couldn't continue dodging, he wasn't like Komaba who was built like an athlete, or that Kamijou guy with the freaky right hand that canceled out Level Eater's powers. As a good for nothing Level 0 with nothing remotely special about him, he had to think outside the box and rely on tricks to survive. Twisting out of the way of several wings that wished to stick him full of holes along with the holy luggage that was Index, Hamazura carefully eyed the battlefield.

The blond delinquent watched as Touma got in close to Level Eater, once again shutting it down with just a touch of his hand which opened a window for Komaba to fire off another round of grenades at the ghoulish creation. That's when he caught what the others had missed.

When Level Eater regained its AIM body, the six capsules containing an odd obscured green liquid glowed a luminescent emerald hue. The antenna's at the top hummed, sparking ever so slightly and Level Eater once again went on the attack with a rain of wings stabs. What they had first believed to be some background pieces looked to be more important then they believed.

That chick inside the weird, deadly machine said something about stolen Personal Realities and ability, right? Six Espers with Aerokinesis; the ability to manipulate wind itself. And where were those Espers? They had to be close by.

In plain sight, the answer laid in those containers with odd silhouettes.

An idea came to Hamazura. One that even a delinquent like himself could pull off.

"Get a good grip, Sister-chan! Cause we're about to break some shit up!" Hamazura grinned as he swung his steel baton free.

Swiping his right arm, Touma shattered several green wings aimed for his chest. He panted, feeling the constant evading and negating start to wear him out. He knew Toka was right, that his body was in no condition to be fighting, but he pushed his body regardless. It shouldn't have been a surprise he was already out of breath.

"So, you can dodge a few attacks? Than how about something more widespread?!"

Spreading its arms up wide, Level Eater unleashed a flurry of slashes that fired blade after blade of winds at Touma. Seeing the attacks fly far faster than he could vainly dodge, Touma was left with no other option than to raise his right hand's palm out to act like a shield in the face of the wild slashes. Splaying his fingers out wide, he created a pseudo field of negation that shattered most of the aero blades. Though the parts of him outside of that field weren't so lucky. His shoulders suffered lacerating tears, his legs were sliced, and a long slash starting from below Touma's left eye lid to his ear ran with red.

Mila smiled sadistically. She could finally see the odd ball Level 0's face twist with agony. Good, for a moment she believed that he was invincible. What a silly thought. She may have been taken back by that right hand of his, but that wasn't enough to make her fear him. That power to negate her attacks looked to be centered remotely to his right hand. Meaning; if she wanted to do any real damage, she needed to focus avoiding that right hand that was capable of negation.

Negation. Mila had never heard of such a thing existing in Academy City's Bank, a power like that wasn't anything like the five attributes in the Power Curriculum Program. Idly though, she did hear of a certain rumor; the rumor of a mysterious Level 0 who had the ability to negate an Esper's abilities. Like many others, she had thought of it as nothing more than what it was; a rumor with no truth to it.

But here he was, a breathing myth.

Well, not breathing for long.

Creating another twisting gale in Level Eater's palm, Mila was already calculating a new strategy with the borrowed minds of those six Esper's connected to The Level Eater System. She tsked, transforming those twisting gales into blast of bellowing winds as three grenade shells came from the left. Right, she almost forgot about Komaba. Unlike Touma, the true threat, the big thug was just an annoyance. Hardly worth her time.

Ants were ants though, and they were meant to be squashed.

"You've annoyed me long enough, Komaba-san. Drop dead already." Mila remarked in annoyance. She flung Level Eater's wrist, sending a long blade of wind along the floor with the speed of a ramming truck.

Komaba knew he couldn't dodge, the attack was far too fast. Thinking quickly, he aimed his grenade launcher at the ground a few feet away from, disrupting the long blade's form with the explosive force. He didn't go unscathed though, standing far too close to the blast that flung bits of the ground back at him like shrapnel into his skin.

Despite the bits of ground stabbed into his body, Komaba didn't stumble and loaded the last of his shells while abusing the Hard Taping over his joints to evade the chasing slicing winds. With how large the rounds were, he didn't carry much on him to be wasteful. He was down to three and would have to make them count.

A mad twitch developed in Mila's eye. They were zeros! Just like she had been, they lacked any power! In the face someone with the power to control the very wind to do whatever she damned well pleased, they should have cowered and died like any other Level 0! So, why was it that two lowly Level 0s were able to continue standing in her way?

Creating six spinning twisters, she fired them like spears after the most problematic target; Kamijou Touma. Calculating the trajectory with the aid of the Espers doing all her calculations, the twisters twirled around in confusing patterns to better avoid Touma's right hand. The drilling winds spun around Touma's panting form, speeding up in rotation as he tried to follow where they would strike from. A wide grin grew as Mila manipulated the twisters to spiral around Touma, flying up high above the spiky haired boy before raining down in six directions to pierce him through. Like clasping fingers, the twisters moved to run him through in a stabbing grip.

Touma grew frantic. Feeling his right hand flexing his fingers, he spun his body in a complete spin on the balls of his heel just as the twisters closed in. All but one of the drilling winds were negated. He grunted deeply as one of the twisters eagerly lunged for his face; his reflexes saved him yet again, forcing his head to the side and earning several shredding cuts from his cheek to his shoulder.

Blood freely swam down Touma's face from the numerous cuts from what felt like a shredder against his skin that would have made even a grown man swallow a cry. But he endured the agony, right fist still held out to shattered another, much larger, twister that had thought could sneak in a kill shot. His breath was ragged, each breath felt like he was gulping a gallon of air into his dry lungs, and his right arm was throbbing with the beat of his hammering heart. All it would take was one good hit, and he would be out for the count.

And yet, that damn, plain faced, Level 0 continued to stand in her way.

"Why?" Mila's voice came out softer than before, displaying how tired she was becoming with their exchange. Her gaze remained on Touma, flicking Level Eater's hand to fling aside the grenade shell Komaba had tried to hit her with, "Why are you even here? This doesn't involve you, this involves Academy City and I! Why can't you just leave me alone and let my wish be granted!?"

Slapping a bullet like burst of wind his way, Touma spoke to Mila with a puzzled frown.

"Wish? How can any of this be for a wish?! What does that blood stained wish even grant you? Satisfaction? Happiness? Can you really say that the lives of those lost today are worth it?!"

"Don't you dare speak to me like you know what's right for me!" Mila yelled as she aimed Level Eater's left hand out. Unlike the attacks from earlier, it was unseen to the naked eye. But it's effect was immediate. Touma felt the air around him grow thin. It seemed Mila had learned a new trick to her Aero ability and created a space devoid of oxygen. The spiky haired Level 0 began to choke as he fought to preserve whatever breath remained in his lungs.

"For years, I've tried to better myself to no success. Did you know that after eight, agonizing, lonely, loveless, years I haven't so much as increased my AIM by even a fraction of its number? I couldn't live up to my parents expectations, and who's fault is that? Academy City, that's whose! Where I failed, they continued to smile and tell me to keep trying, knowing I would never do better!"

"And that gives you the right to manipulate others for your revenge? Aren't you doing the same as Academy City?! Giving those who followed you false hope of making things better for Level 0s, when in reality it was all for your own selfish desire!" Touma grunted weakly before stumbling a short distance and moving his right hand forward. The sound of shattering glass rang out, negating the draining oxygen field as he swallowed several gulps of sweet tasting air.

"Exactly; you're exactly right! I'm just another manipulative, twisted, cruel figure, created by this lying city of science! The sweet little girl who originally wished for her parent's approval was corrupted by the researchers who poked at her body like some rat! Just like all the other students, those monsters took an innocent child and turned them into cold values!"

Once again, the pseudo angelic wings made of AIM spread themselves out from Level Eater's back to rain a barrage of slicing lashes onto all that opposed it. And though Touma could rely on his instincts and Imagine Breaker to survive the wings, the others were left to struggle in vain. If these kind of attacks continued any longer, it wouldn't be long until one of them fumbled and were torn to shreds. Komaba could attest to that from the several nicks tearing through his favorite black leather jacket amid his dodging.

There was no let up to the wild attacks fueled by the wrath of a Level 0 who's wish was denied by Academy City. Unless they could find some way to cut off the Level Eater's power source or permanently shut it down, their only option was to evade Level Eater's assault as best they could and as long as they could.

"Komaba! I found that bitch's weakness!"

Rolling out of the way of several gusts of slicing winds, Komaba turned his eyes to find Hamazura and the silver haired nun at the center of the large hangar. The Skill-Out leader wasn't sure how they had did, but they had managed to avoid detection from Level Eater's wrath, mostly likely to due with how little of a threat the two pose. Wondering what the shaggy haired thug was speaking of about weakness, he seemed to put the dots together as he noticed Hamazura gesture to one of the six tubes filled with luminescent liquid.

The Level Eater was a machine that attained a Personal Reality of Espers that were connected to its network, consuming a Level from those students to further build onto the shared abilities while also producing a visible field of AIM for a body. So, that left a question; where were those six Espers? The answer was simple, appearing literally right in front of their faces.

Hamazura grinned as he winded his arm back for a full body swing of his baton. He wasn't sure what those creepy tubes were made of, but he was sure that a couple of swings from a destructive thug would be enough to do some kind of damage!

"Oh, how cute! You thought I wouldn't do a thing to protect the power source of Level Eater's body? How utterly foolish of me! Why, I'm so devastated by the discovery of my one weakness, that I am unable to so much as stop a common delinquent from smashing the weak points."

The dramatics of Mila weren't lost to Touma as he batted away a wing that had curved to slice along his ribs. He frowned, feeling an uneasy weight drop down his stomach as he watched Hamazura ready to bash the glass tank of liquid providing the ghoulish creation AIM with the Personal Realities of students.

Wait. . .the students!

"STOP! DON'T BREAK THOSE TANKS!"

The desperate plea was just enough to stop Hamazura's swing. Well, in truth the delinquent was more than ready to ignore the shirtless spiky haired teen's and bash the weak points like a pinata. It was only thanks to Index's interference that the blond boy missed. Hamazura growled in annoyance and moved to try again, only for Index to grab onto his arm.

"What are you doing, Sister-san! Can't you see that breaking these things will stop that thing's rampage!" he grunted.

"But Touma said not to! He has to have a reason why!" Index argued stubbornly.

"And what stupid reason would that be!?"

"It's the students!"

Palm facing forward against the spinning drill of wind racing at him, Touma explained his reasons for stopping Hamazura from cutting off Level Eater's power source while shattering the attack.

"There's no reason why Mila would just leave those tanks out in the open if they contained the students supplying her with AIM! She's not an idiot, and she's not careless! If those tanks contain students, than there their only protection! Who knows what would happen to them if you damaged them!"

"He's right; spoilsport." Mila pouted. From her tone of voice, she didn't seem bothered that Hamazura could easily cripple her machine's ability to perform an ability. She was acting rather lax, caring little for what would happen to her power source, "If you don't care about the lives of those Espers, go ahead and break those tanks. Not only do they protect them and provide me all I need to perform their abilities, but they act as their life support. Those tanks control their breathing, monitor their heartbeats, supply them with vitamins to stay healthy, and make sure that their blood is properly pumping. And while I've made sure to avoid damaging them with small calculations of wind to bat away any damage, the same can not be said for you all. Tell me; are you willing to stop me at the cost of six innocent lives?"

Those cold words were accented by the Level Eater's hand aimed for one of the pods that housed a random student. The palm made of AIM swirled with wind, gathering a small storm that was fired like a stream rolling truck. The floor was torn apart in its destructive path for Level Eater's human power source.

Seeing what Mila was aiming for, Touma kicked off from where he stood to chase after the massive burst of storms. It took all he had to intervene the attack, breaking right in front of the towering whipping force of winds with the destructive force to tear apart walls of steel with a clenched fist. Even as the storm tossed his hair back and inflicted small cuts along his already wounded skin, Touma endured and did what no other human could; he punched the storm with his right fist.

As all other supernatural force, the attack was shattered as if it was never even there. No matter what power or destructive force the power held, it was meaningless before that right hand.

Touma's body trembled with anger as he glared furiously at Level Eater; at the platinum haired girl who had once again endangered an innocent student.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Kamijou-san! I had a feeling that you would stop my attack just in time. After all, you've been getting in my way this entire time with that freak of a right hand of yours." Mila said with a hiss.

"Get the fuck over it!"

That uproarious shout took Mila back, causing the girl to level the ghoulish machine's blood red gaze at the normal high school boy.

"What did you say?"

Touma stepped up to Level Eater, that same right hand that had constantly shattered every one of her attacks now slapped over his heart with an expression crossed with both frustration and sympathy of his fellow Level 0.

"I said; Get the fuck over it! I understand, you're in pain, you're suffering because of that stupid, insignificant label a bunch of faceless figures have given you! I don't know the story of your life completely, but I know that because of your status as a Level 0, you lost your family. Because of Academy City's Level System, they abandoned you in this cold city of science to become a Child Error. You were just a little girl who only wanted to be loved but were abandoned! Left all alone, you could only resort to wishing for all your hard work to be paid off with an ability all your own. And when that prayer belonging to a crying little girl wasn't answered, you resorted to anger, hate, revenge! Blaming Academy City for your lack of progress and everything else wrong in your life!

That kind of suffering, that kind of sorrow, had created the girl who sought to toss that pain right back at the cause of her fate. It didn't matter if others got caught up in her path of destruction. She was no longer the little girl who's voice could not be heard. Her voice was starting to resound, devouring a single district in street war, and was ready to do the same to the entire city.

Touma could understand how Mila had become such a girl. But that didn't mean he would accept it.

"But such failure isn't an excuse to allow yourself to transform into such a cruel, careless, girl! When you were at your lowest, I'm sure you had two options to choose from. Allow that pain to drag you further down into the darkness; or fight past it and get over it! Even if you don't have power, I'm sure you certainly had enough strength to see past the blame and grow up!"

"Get over it? Grow up? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?"

With a roar, Mila commanded the Level Eater to charge ahead with a gaping mouth ready to devour the mouthy Level 0 up. Her anger was beginning to cloud her judgment. She didn't care about that odd negating hand of his, she just wanted to make him shut up! The winds she conjured washed past her like streams, aiding her in sending her flying like a sonic jet. Even with Touma's ability to cancel whatever ability Level Eater could summon, he couldn't hope to react quick enough to a heavy steel object that flew with the speed of a jet.

"WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT BEING ABANDONED BY THOSE YOU LOVED?! HOW COULD ANYONE EVER THINK ABOUT LETTING SUCH PAIN GO?!"

It felt like time itself had grown to a sluggish pace. Everything was happening in slow motion in Touma's eyes. He could see the metal ghoul of gathered AIM racing towards him with speed he couldn't hope to dodge. He was stuck. The second Imagine Breaker negated the AIM Burst's body, he would find himself being struck by the hard, durable, metal body. It would crash into him full force, breaking every bone in his body if he was lucky.

If Touma was anyone else, he would have taken what little time he had to think of a smart strategy to save himself. Surely, there was some way to escape. But that spiky haired boy wasn't that smart. The only thing he could ever do was rely on that right hand of his. Clenching that right fist was all he had ever known since his memories were destroyed.

Facing the jet speeding Level Eater head on, Touma sighed tiredly and squared his shoulders. He raised his right arm, balled his fist, and dug his feet in as deeply as he could.

 _'It's true, I don't understand such suffering like you. But I was abandoned too; abandoned by a boy I could never hope to live up to. And I could have given into the despair of waking up with no connections to call my own, with no personality to call my own, with no dreams to call my own. In that moment, I could have fallen into my own despair too. But,'_

All it had taken was one teary eyed, bright yet trembling, smile of one girl to give him reason.

Doubt still existed in his core. Were his actions his own to claim? Did his fist clench because he desired it? Was he putting his life on the line because that was what he desired it? Touma wasn't sure, but-

 _'I'll get over it! I will move on! AND IF SOME HUSK WITH NO PAST, NO DREAMS, NO IDEALS, CAN; SO CAN YOU!'_

The Level Eater crashed against the fist of a normal high school boy who impersonated someone greater. As suspected, the AIM Burst the machine had created as a skin had been shattered. That left the steel, crushing, body to meet against Touma's fist with a boom. Science dictated that such an object that moved at such speed should have utterly broken apart that arm and obliterated his body in a bloody shower of meat chunks.

But that right hand-No, that boy, had a habit of defying both science and magic.

The Hard Taping had aided in Touma's punch, adding more impact to stand against the crashing metal body. For a good few seconds, he had been able to hold the Level Eater's AIM-less body back. Any longer though, and he would have been blown away none the less.

What had helped to evade such a tragedy though was the shell of a grenade.

To the sides, Komaba had been watching the scene between Touma and Mila play out. He hated to say it, but he couldn't do much with only one grenade shell left. He had to wait for just the right time to use it, along with another trick he had in his sleeve. For his plan to work, he had only one chance to act on, leaving him to stand aside and patiently wait for his chance to come.

When he had seen the Level Eater abandon its long range attacks and go in for a close range move against that spiky haired boy's negating fist, Komaba knew he had to time his next move just right.

He fired his last grenade with perfect precision, just in time to hit the Level Eater's exposed body as it crashing against Touma's right fist. The shell hit the side of the ghoulish machine with enough force to screw with its flight upon detonating and send it skidding to the far left of Touma. Komaba didn't waste another moment to act and ran.

He didn't run for the vulnerable Level Eater though. No, his true intentions were centered for the six pods that contained the Espers powering the machine.

Having no need for a weapon with no ammo, Komaba tossed it aside and went for another weapon in his leather jacket. Well, calling it was weapon was actually wrong. It was more of a tool than anything else. It was meant for dealing matters that didn't concern fighting, but it had a purpose in this battle after all.

 _'If that machine relies on signals to gather its AIM from the pods, than stopping it without harming those students is much more simpler than I thought!'_

Coming to skidding stop at the center of the pods, Komaba threw the object in his jacket out, almost as if he was throwing confetti. Strangely enough, a silver glitter showered over a few of the pods that was soon accompanied by more.

From within the Level Eater, Mila groaned in discomfort. She may been protected from outside attacks from the confines of the ghoulish machine, but that didn't mean she was entirely safe. Her body was jerked around by the forces outside that shook the machine. After that last hit, she felt several of her joints had grown sore. She had to blink away the groggy pressure in her head.

No matter. She may have taken a hit there, but she wasn't down. The Level Eater would just rise back up, and this time, she would make sure to deal with the pests properly. She was going about it the wrong way anyway. First; she would deal with Komaba and the others first. They had no means to properly defend themselves. After she rid herself of them, she could fully focus on dealing with Touma and his freaky right hand.

With a new strategy in mind, Mila moved to act swiftly on it and continue with her goal of revenge.

But to her puzzlement, nothing happened.

At first, Level Eater did not respond to her mental commands to rise. After a bit more push, the ghoulish machine levitated with the help of the Aero abilities she had stolen. But as she moved to regain the AIM Burst body, she could only conjure a short burst of AIM that repeatedly flickered on and off. The left hand she could only produce created a small gust of wind that died as quickly as she created it. To everyone watching gaze, the Level Eater's AIM body kept disappearing with what body parts it could create randomly.

Somehow, the connection to the Level Eater Network was being jammed.

The culprit stood in the middle of the pods that supplied her with her power.

Komaba smirked slightly as he found the half formed glare of the Level Eater staring at him.

"It's over. You said that you used brainwaves sent through radio signals to use your machines AIM draining abilities. That only meant we just needed to disrupt the signals."

"B-But, how!?" she roared furiously.

"Didn't you notice it in the air?"

Blinking owlishly, Mila soon discovered odd little silver petals twirling around the center of the hangar. Upon closer look, they resembled seeds with leaves sprouting out like a two fanned propeller.

"What you're looking at are called Chaff Seeds; Feathers of Disturbance. And while they seem harmless and pretty to look at, they have an important purpose. These little machines are mostly used to mess with Anti-Skills radios and prevent them from calling in back up, or sending any information that might get in our way in the moment. The metal sheets they're made from are very useful in getting in the way of radio signals, among other things." Komaba shrugged in his explanation, sending a few more up into the air around him, "After hearing how your machine relies on radio signals, it seemed only appropriate to rely on a trick a no good Level 0 developed. Though I had hoped it could completely jam the signals; it looks like Level Eater is still able to receive some signals."

Those little machines were jamming Level Eater signals? Of all things, those little gadgets brought by a Level 0 were disrupting a machine that absorbed the abilities and minds of Espers?

Even though Komaba couldn't see the platinum haired french girl's face, he could picture her frozen with an expression of disbelief, and rage. It made him chuckle just a little bit.

With the ghoulish machine slowed down by its body unable to properly develop, that allowed them to move onto the next stage of their plan.

"Hamazura!"

"Already on it!"

The blond delinquent didn't need to be told what to do next. The problem came with the tanks that contained the Espers and the signals they received and sent back. That only meant that they just needed to get rid of whatever was acting as the radio transmitter. It was clear what the cause was. Having already loaded his small handgun, Hamazura went to work on shooting at the top of six pods. His bullets were more than enough to destroy the receivers. Once the receivers were nothing more than metal riddled with holes, Hamazura gave Komaba thumbs up alongside the silver haired Sister he was watching over.

The loss of the small network of Espers had an immediate effect to the Level Eater. The ghoulish machine's unstable AIM withered away to nothing, leaving it to fall with a great boom to the floor. It stood up right, thanks to the spiked jack digging into the floor to keep it stable. And with the loss of its ability, the burning red eye at its center dimmed into a dull red as it remained inactive.

The signs of any threat from the mechanical ghoul were nonexistent. Without any AIM to power it, it was nothing more than a heavy tear drop piece of machinery.

Touma breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. The spark that ignited a war in the streets of District 10 that had turned into a feverish, hungry flame, was now snuffed out. Now that there was nothing to fight, he could finally ease his fists. He flinched, finding his body nearly toppling over as he found the days events now creeping up on him. Any moment now and he was sure he would find himself falling on his face to add another bruise to his face. That was just his luck.

"Touma!"

It seemed that Index wasn't willing to waste any more time being away from her beloved caretaker. She left Hamazura's side and ran ahead to Touma, jumping at the tired boy with a leaping hug.

He was tired, beaten up, still bleeding here and there, and he felt that he might have a broken bone somewhere on his body; but he ignored all the aches and pain to return Index's embrace with his own smile. The fact that he was shirtless didn't matter to the two. In this moment, they only cared about being reunited through all the fighting without any looming threat.

"You couldn't wait until we got out of here, could you?" Touma chuckled through a grimace.

Index shook her head against Touma's dirty chest with a bright smile. She didn't care about the spiky haired boy's chest in her face, or the blood or smell; she just cared that he had made it back to her in one piece. Unlike last time.

Falling back beside his boss, Hamazura couldn't help but stare at the heart warming scene between the spikey haired boy and the silver haired Sister with envy.

"Who the hell is this guy anyway, Komaba? Is he part of Skill-Out or something?"

Komaba shook his head, taking the moment to rest on his knee now that the action was over. The excessive use of Hard Taping had taken a toll on him. When this was done with, he was going to need a long ice bath to ease his sore as hell muscles and joints.

"The boy's name is Kamijou, I believe. And no, he's not part of any Skill-Out gang that I know of. From what I've learned, he's simply some random high schooler who got caught up in this mess."

Hamazura said nothing, staring at the so called random high schooler flatly.

"He's. . .just some random guy?"

"Yup." Komaba said bluntly.

"Bullshit."

Bullshit indeed.

Patting Index's headdress affectionately, Touma turned his attention back to the silent Level Eater. He couldn't help but frown in worry at the lack of any activity from Mila. When one thought of it, she was safer inside than outside. He may not have anymore reason to fight her, but he wasn't sure of either Komaba or Hamazura from acting on their emotions. They were thugs after all.

He stepped away from Index and the others to stand in front of french girl within the nightmarish piece of technology. He wasn't happy with how things had gone. Mila was just a girl who had suffered due to Academy City. She was someone who wanted to be loved by a family who abandoned her. Her cries hadn't been heard by anyone willing to help that poor girl.

If only. . .if only he, or the previous Kamijou Touma, had come across her sooner.

"Mila-san, are you okay?" Touma asked tentatively, his voice soft as he waited for a response from the girl.

No answer. The lonely girl didn't say anything back even as he gave the tear drop machine a few gentle knocks. With no response, he began prodding the machine for some kind of door handle or latch to reach her. Who knows what kind of condition she was in.

 _ **". . . .Brainwave Upload; Complete. Proceeding with initiation of MELODY."**_

A chill slithered down Touma's head down to his toe as an automated voice spoke in place of Mila from Level Eater's body. Something didn't feel right here. Level Eater no longer had any AIM to produce its body. Without any form of power, it was no longer a threat to them. It was finally over with.

And yet, Touma found his body taking a step back from the still ghoulish machine. A dividing line formed down the Level Eater's body that released a hiss. From that line a brilliant beam of light blinded everyone in hangar and lightened up the facility. Touma grimaced harshly, suffering a point blank blast of the light curtain. He moved his arm over his face to shield his eyes, gaining some sight back in time to see the teardrop shaped machine crack open wide.

From that wave of light washing over every nick and cranny of the Level Eater's hangar, an obscured shadowed stood as the origin of the brilliant wave. Struggling to see what was the cause of the blinding light. Touma could only see what he could guess was Mila's silhouette facing them.

Even though Touma couldn't see much past the overwhelming light, he could make out what he guessed was an open grin from the silhouette before its lips began to move.

A song began to play, sung by a lonely girl who had suffered under the weight of zero.

Something compelled Touma to move on instinct; the instinct left behind in the wake of the previous Kamijou Touma. At the heavenly voice's song, he threw his right hand forward, fingers spread out wide as something flashed from the blinding radiance.

"EVERYONE, GET BEHIND ME!"

He wasn't sure if the others listened to his rushed shout. All Touma knew was that everything in his line of sight erupted with a sea of destruction.

Than. . .nothing.

* * *

Once Yomikawa had helped several other Anti-Skill personal in aiding those students and officers harmed by the onslaught of hacked automated security bots, she turned her attention to the pile of broken machines. She scowled in annoyance as she had to endure static buzz the heap of metal sounded. Even when the Cleaning Bots, Security Bots, and Powered Suits were taken care of, they were still a pain in their ass. For some reason, they couldn't stop whatever was causing the static.

Further breaking them did nothing. Ripping out the speakers that were installed did nothing. Not even their jamming devices did a thing.

The only thing they could guess could be responsible for the sounds could be the odd occult symbols littering the once hacked automatons.

Yomikawa scratched the back of her head with a sigh as she stood over the remains of the machines. She honestly didn't know what to even do with all this junk. Maybe turning them into scrap, or melting them down would silence them? Certainly would help if they had an Esper on hand that could easily melt metal like butter over a flame.

"Just what the hell was that all about?" She couldn't help but ask to herself amid the background of Anti-Skill and Judgment working around her to bring normalcy back to the school district, "I can't help but feel like we've missed something."

 **BOOOOOOOOOM!**

The uproarious echo of an explosion from south overhead caught the attention of all those in District 7. Yomikawa spun her head towards the origin of the explosion, quickly finding a column of pitch black smoke bellowing into the sky. She grit her teeth as the uneasy lump in her stomach grew.

From what she could guess, the explosion had come from District 10. A sector that housed the gang known as Skill-Out and more alarmingly, the nuclear reactors that aided in powering the city. Not a milisecond later, her P-Phone began going off with a stream of alarmed chatter.

 _"What was that?! Did that come from District 10?"_

 _"Is it the nuclear reactor?! Quick, send a team of Anti-Skill to investigate the cause of the explosion!"_

 _"Where getting reports of Skill-Outs barring anyone from entering the district! It looks to be the work of Drop Out and Vile Dogs!"_

 _"This is Branch 20 at District 10! Where the hell have you idiots been?! Do you even know what's been happening here! It's a literal turf war! Why has no one been responding to our distress calls!?"_

 _"A team of Anti-Skill and Judgment are now engaging with Skill-Out members discovered wandering the streets of District 15! Them seem to be carrying an odd. . .steel obelisk? What the hell are those thugs doing?!"_

The stream of disjointed calls from other branch leaders hammered Yomikawa with endless information. District 10; A gang turf war; Skill-Out; Steel Obelisks; and. . .

A song.

From the static blaring from the broken down machines, a song began to play soothingly over the ensuing chatter over her P-Phone. A beautiful, gentle, melodious female voice began to sing in place of the static. The girl's very singing could lull a person to a tranquil state of mind. The song itself was hard to understand, almost as if it was being sang in an alien language Yomikawa's mind couldn't piece together.

The songs very melody was enough for the blue haired teacher's grip on her rifle to slip. She almost lost herself to its rapture before her P-Phone snapped her out of it.

 _"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! WARNING TO ALL ANTI-SKILL PERSONNEL, AN UNKNOWN-BZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!"_

Whatever that Anti-Skill officer was going to say was cut off abruptly by a static feed, followed shortly by the song playing over all lines through Yomikaway's P-Phone. It was taking all her mental strength to fight off the luring pull the singing had over her. It had gone to the point she had to rip off the bluetooth device from her ear and crush it under her foot.

The song was much stronger when it was playing right in her ear. Its song still had the same effect on her through the piles of broken down bots, it was much less powerful than it was through the P-Phone.

Fighting the lull, Yomikawa stared ahead at the rising column of smoke that was most likely the cause of the new form of chaos in Academy City.

* * *

Heavy, struggling, strained breaths followed behind Touma's efforts in carefully carrying a certain silver haired nun's unconscious form against a wall. Luckily, other than a few bruises and nicks on her pin cushioned white habit, Index was fine. She had just been knocked out from the force that had hit her.

Index laid back against the wall alongside the forms of the others. Komaba, Hamazura, Angela, Toka, Fremea, and Dr. Tatsumi were in similar states as the silver haired Sister; unconscious and unresponsive after what they had survived. It was a miracle they had survived without any fatal wounds. He would have to thank Angela for what could only have been magic in play.

Touma groaned deeply, leaning his head back as he surveyed the hangar.

Or, what remained of it.

If one were to see it from his point of view, it appeared as if something had completely obliterated everything in sight. It was nothing short of decimation. Though they were several levels below the Hoshi Reactor's bottom floor, the attack that had blown the secret facility to rubble had stretched as far to erupt out from the reactor at an angle. To add further to the destruction, the cause of the obliteration had created a massive hole straight up to exit out from. The afternoon sunlight peeked down to lighten the scene of devastation and rubble. There were no signs of the attack melting metal, cutting through, or dissolving anything. It was just an intense, blunt, smashing force.

Now, one would ask how Touma and the others had survived such an attack even with a miracle at play. The answer was simple.

Imagine Breaker.

When Touma had thrown his right hand out, finger's spread wide open before the insane attack that decimated everything around him, he had created a pseudo field of negation in front and behind him. As great and powerful as the attack had been, it too had failed to overcome that boy's right hand. The supernatural destruction hadn't been outright shattered to nothing. No, it had fought to overpower Touma's right hand until it had died down.

The others who stood watching everything from the control room had been lucky to be caught behind Touma's position. The control room itself had been destroyed, collapsing under the force, but everyone inside must have been protected by a last minute protective spell that had reached even Komaba, Hamazura, and Index in time. They were wounded and buried beneath the rubble though, which Touma had painstakingly dug through to make sure they were all alive.

By the end of digging them out, Touma's hands were soaked with blood due to all the scrapes and gashes inflicted by the rubble. Well, it would be better to say hand instead of hands.

Touma fell to his knees with a dull thud, his eyes downcast to the torn apart floor to his right arm.

His entire right arm had been twisted horribly, nearly turned from its socket. His fingers were all bent, nails chipped right through like broken glass, and skin peeled like some amateur chef had tried to skin his arm off like an apple while the bandaged Hard Taping had been shredded. The attack had all but ripped his right arm off. He was lucky to have it left behind a mangled mess.

Imagine Breaker negated anything supernatural. Good or Bad. He was the only one left to suffer the brunt of that cruel attack.

What was it? Shock? Disbelief? What was it that stopped him from giving into the searing pain that enveloped every inch of his body, and cry out with wracking sobs of agony.

He wasn't sure what it was. All he knew was one thing.

Touma had failed.

He had failed to stop Mila. He had failed to protect Index and the others.

And most importantly of all, he had failed that Level 0 he was standing in for.

This was it. He couldn't go on any longer. He had suffered far too many injuries to even get back on his feet. His entire body had gone numb to protect him from the damage that threatened to shut him down. What remained of his strength and will was keeping his eyes from giving out.

A sigh; drained, exhausted, defeated, left that normal high school boy's dried and bloody lips as he rested on his knees in the remains of the research facility.

There was nothing left for him to do. Nothing.

"Now, now, Kamijou-san! That's not the face a reluctant star should be making! You're Touma Power needs to sparkle more radiantly!"

"The fact he even remains conscious after such a brutal strike is fascinating. I knew the wielder of Imagine Breaker had high resilience, but this is scientifically absurd. Kaa-san was right; there is no method to explain what he's capable of. No wonder she found herself captivated by him. How romantic."

"Even at this early of his journey, he's still capable of this much. But it's still lack luster. He needs to Level Up some, other wise this Event is all for nothing."

Voices, once's he didn't recognize in the slightest. Or did he? His memory loss was really a pain in his ass sometimes. Moving his head up slightly, Touma could only make out three hazy figures standing in front of him. That wasn't good, his sight was on verge of leaving him too. He could already feel his eye lids flutter, ready to shut at any moment.

"W-Who?" Touma rasped, struggling to even utter a single letter.

One of those hard to see figures walked up to Touma's kneeling form. Even when they were so close, he still couldn't make out their features well enough to picture a face. It was just a blur.

That unknown person laid their hand on Touma's naked, filthy, blood soaked, shoulder with a comforting squeeze. They spoke kindly.

"Don't worry, Kamijou-san. You can leave your friends to us to care for. I'll be sure they're all healed up and moved somewhere safe. But I'm afraid your work isn't done, not just yet. After all, isn't there someone who needs to be saved? Can't you hear it?"

Hear it? What was that mystery person saying? What could he hea-

Music. A song was being sung for all to hear, spread far and wide within Academy City. It's very melody lured in those who heard it and linked them all together in harmony to the singer's wish. All who were to hear it were struck by its beauty and captivated to listen.

But Touma, as heavily wounded, drained, and close to passing out as he was, could hear what was buried deep below the gentle tones.

An emotion. One so buried deep down, no one else could ever hope to discover it. Yet he found himself ignoring the wondrous sound and focusing on that one emotion.

And that gem he had found called to him to clench that mangled fist of bent fingers once again.

The action brought a pleased grin to that mystery boy's blurred face.

"There it is! The famous Kamijou Touma fist clench that's defied so many! Even at your knees, you can still muster the strength to try and try again! It's almost enough to mist up my eyes."

"Unlike a certain blond Mind Over. How unromantic."

"S-Shut up! The sheer determined power Kamijou-san displays is just too overpowering! And I see you glancing away, you supposed cold and calculating Kihara!"

Ignoring the bickering between the other two blurry figures, the leader of the trio stood up and stepped back.

"Now that you've regained that infamous spark of yours, it's time to get you going. Unfortunately, you've suffered a great deal of damage, your HP is at the red and blinking dangerously. At your state, you'll suffer a Critical Hit and then Game Over. Luckily, we've learned much from our respective mother's on how to fix you up quickly. All that I ask, is that you once again grit your teeth-"

One of the other blurry figures moved next to the leader, their hand rising up with a silver glint that sent warning signals firing off in Touma's head.

"And bear it."

That silver glint moved with insane speed, slicing through the air with the sound of cutting wind like a whistle. And in that single flash of steel, Touma found he could no longer feel his right arm.

Something hit the ground with the sound of wet meat flopping dully. The sound sickened Touma.

And then, something. . .cruel, menacing, wild, and uncontrollable began to spring from that ordinary boy's blood spurting right shoulder. With a bubbling sound, a great pressure began to emit and sting the very air due to the unrestrained phenomenon ready to unleash itself to the world.

"Hachi-san; _**Over-Run 061: Sensory Restoration**_."

"Already on it! Kamijou-san, what you see, _is just an illusion_!"

An invisible presence moved to snap its jaws at the three boys who had dared to see its release from that spiky boy's right arm. But even without the ultimate shield; Imagine Breaker, it found itself vanishing into thin air.

Whatever It was, it held enough power to easily plow right through the tricks of humans, Magician or Esper. But the same could not be said for Kamijou Touma. Without Imagine Breaker, he was now weak to attacks and abilities of those he once negated.

That spiky haired boy who appeared no different than any other high schooler possessed another power. One that had moved quickly to crush that unseen, invisible terror. It was an unconscious motion he himself was not aware of.

The pain had ended there. Touma wasn't sure how, but it felt like his right arm had been reattached. It was odd. Even though he could clearly see that his right arm laid across from him, it felt as if it was still attached to his shoulder. Like it had never been chopped cleanly off. Somewhere in his brain, certain bio electrical signals were telling him that his right arm was very much fine; to not worry about the fact his right arm was indeed laying across from him in a bloody puddle.

That what he was seeing was simply an illusion.

"Apologies for the ugly method we've resorted to, Kamijou-san. But it was the only way to allow us the chance to send you on your way quicker. Now, stand still. This will only take a moment. After that, it's all up to you to wrap this Event up. We can't carry you the entire time after all. Though I'm sure you're tenacity will help you to chase after Mila-chan and put an end to her illusions."

Touma wasn't sure what was happening. At the brink of defeat, he was greeted to three strange boy's he still couldn't make out, lost his right arm again, felt something divine yet monstrous burst out of his empty right arm socket, and now felt this odd tugging sensation over his body. What he could only guess was a needle poked his left arm, injecting him with some unknown medicine.

Touma blinked slowly, feeling his senses come back to him thanks to what he guessed was a drug that helped to restore his exhausted stamina. Even his vision began to clear up, giving him enough sight to make out two heads of blond hair and one head of dark hair.

"Sorry! But we can't allow you to see our faces just yet, Kamijou-san! It was nice meeting you, and to know that you certainly live up to your reputation, but you got somewhere to be. This is where we part."

Before Touma could finally make out the leader of the three stranger's faces, he felt his body enveloped by what he could guess was magic, and pull him away. He moved to stay, to at least thank the strangers for healing him, and make sure that Index and the others really were in safe hands, but only found a mangled red object flung his way.

It wasn't until his entire body was whisked away by the spell of the leader, that he realized that it was his right hand that was thrown at him.

* * *

 _ **The grand finale is ready to close. A song of one lonely girl fills the city, connecting them all to the same suffering that has been ignored for far too long.**_

 _ **A great beast is now unleashed with an appetite that can't be quenched. The hunger for revenge is great and will devour this city whole.**_

 _ **Against the entire reality of this city of science, what can one ordinary boy do? With doubt in his heart, a heart that he can't even call his own, what will he do?**_

 _ **That fist only remembers how to clench. Follow it, and your wish will be heard.**_

 **And that's that! Due to how long the finale was, I had to cut it in half. Again, I went a little overboard with my words. But now, when next we meet, we will see how the final battle will play out! I gotta tell ya, it was one hell of a fight to write. I can't wait for you all to see the dramatic conclusion.**

 **Now, for NT22R. Spoilers for those who hadn't read it yet.**

 **Holy hell. Was that more than I expected in the way of character development.**

 **Touma, Accelerator, and my beloved Misaki. Those three were truly the stars of this volume for sure. All of them grew or revealed parts of themselves that I would not have thought to see.**

 **Touma, for once, killed. It was himself in a way; his own unknown ability having taken a human form and stolen Imagine Breaker; but he had fought to kill Kamijou no Touma with no remorse. I will always shiver when I remember his line; "I'll kill you, you and only You!"; He revealed that dark part of himself he had always had and we've only gotten peeks of. Not only that, but Kamijou no Touma had shown us just how deadly and dangerous Touma could truly be. When he wasn't tied down by his morality, he could prove to be truly cunning, cynical, and tactical. All while still retaining the image of Kamijou Touma it he had always observed from his cage inside Touma. To use even the memories of his lost summer with Misaki against her and Touma; that was both cruel and smart.**

 **That dragon shell he created was pretty awesome too. I wonder what it could be? And what it's full potential could do? God damn Kamachi! Always leaving me with more questions!**

 **Accelerator has finally grown past his old self. That boy who killed 10,000 girls as if they were wind up dolls has gone through so much through OT and NT. The number 1 now see's himself as being an example for the other Espers to follow, and wants to do better and act better. He wants to change Academy City's dark underbelly. He doesn't want those cruel, twisted experiments that created him to go on any further. He is now the Board Chairman. And he will do whatever it takes to properly bring up his precious students. Because he's now ready to properly walk the same path as the hero he's always been chasing after. All while still being his typical self. I loved the cheery introduction full of bloodlust at the remaining board members.**

 **Poor, sweet, Misaki. I say again; God damn Kamachi! She's just a girl! Her love for Touma had come to bit her back as she met a Touma that actually remembered her, and those lost memories of a happy summer. As long as she could hear Touma, whatever form he took, say her name, she would be happy. But that was just a blissful illusion, one she had to break herself. With one final blow of her whistle, she wished that the boy she had loved would hear it and come to her rescue again. And even in the strange form of a dragon of sky blue and lemon yellow, Misaki could see the Touma that truly had her heart. That poor girl has suffered so much these past few volumes. I hope that as we get into the new chapter of A Certain Magical Index, that she can find some happiness with Touma again. She no longer needs to hold onto the past, she can finally begin living towards the present and future.**

 **The fights this volume were great. Touma vs. Touma. Accelerator vs. Queen Elizard. And Touma vs. John's Pen Mode Index, Part II! And this time, he wound up surpassing the old Kamijou Touma by defeating JPM Index's Dragon's Breath without losing his memories. That slap of the feathers that had created him was just perfect. as he said, "It's over."**

 **I can't wait to see what's in stores next. Anna Sprengal and Aiwass are set to take the place of The Silver Star and The Great Demon. Many more adventures await, and I'll be here waiting with little to no patience!**

 **What did you think of the last of New Testament? It's always good hear from fellow fans of how it came to an end.**

 **Now, enough rambling! You know what to do!**

 **Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	9. Wish Upon a STAR

**And at long last, after more than half a year, we have reached the end of the first arc! Damn, didn't think it would take this long. Or go this far. But when your as busy as I am, it takes a while to churn out content. But now we're here at the grand finale of Zeroes War/The Level Eater Arc!**

 **Make sure to stick around the end for news of what comes next. First though, reviews!**

 **DN Works: You're right, problems will arise at the appearance of so many children to a timeline they should not exist. This whole arc was born by the interference of one of those kid's after all. Make's you wonder how the canon events will change compared to a simple interaction with one Level 0? The fight with Mila while controlling the The Level Eater was an interesting one to come up with. Wait till you get to the real fight this chapter; now that was fun! As for the dregs left behind by the Magic God of Ruin, they do play an interesting part with the time traveling children as you've already noticed. Emotions is only a small part.**

 **BlueJack22: Really? Ooh, I feel that you might have something to say at the end of this finale.**

 **Anti-Mage29: Pfft, you think that's insane? Get ready for what's to come this chapter. Fight's just begun!**

 **TazalTerminals: Just because Arden's one of Touma's kids, doesn't mean that he'll act the same or be as kind. No doubt they carry his will, but no one ever said that was a good thing, or bad really. And you're wrong about his mother being Seiri; for one he has light blond hair.**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: Honestly, I couldn't have everyone ignore shirtless Touma, even during the confrontation with Mila. It was just too good to pass up and became the highlights of the chapter for me too. As a fan of action scene, I had fun with this one and the next one for sure. Even if the ending is a little. . .breaking. Oh, so even you realized who's fault all this mess truly is? Nice one, but that's something that won't be touched on without handing out spoilers for the future.**

 **Lordrednight: Well get ready to fall of the edge with this chapter, and than some with the ending. As for the reveal of Toka's mother, you'll have to wait until the Epilogue and SS for a clear answer there. Get ready to make guesses during this chapter though! Got a whole batch of kids revealed this chapter, so I expect some guesses when next we meet!**

 **FearMeHorror: I know this isn't part of the latest chapter, or even concerning this story, but I might as well answer ya on that front. Be patient, for I will be updating one of my RWBY stories and going back to updating during my break.**

 **Now, we're here at the end of the first major arc! No more waiting, let's see what lays at the end of that lonely road, once and for all!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: _I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kamachi Kazuma._**

 ** _I'm honestly surprised I got to finish this chapter at all with all my time being sunk into Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I've got almost 90+ hours on this thing since launch. Should have finished it a week ago, but I'm both a micromanager and a lover of supports. And waifus, so many waifus._**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Wish Upon a STAR**.

 **What_Your_HEART_Desires**.

* * *

When the pixel like lights in the wake of the spell that whisked Kamijou Touma away from the decimated secret facility below the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor fell, a collective shuddering breath was finally released from those three mysterious boys.

The blond leader, Arden, felt his very face grow slick with a cold sweat that chilled him to his very core. His eyes trembled while he gulped with some struggle after witnessing what had laid beneath the container that was Imagine Breaker.

IT was as sinister as they had been warned. No, it was beyond that. Words couldn't even describe what that Thing had made them all experience. Terror was nothing compared to the utter horror that had gripped their hearts when its numerous malevolent gazes sought them and snapped its row of infinite teeth at them. It wasn't for his older brother, Hachiman, and his ability to control minds on a level beyond his mother's capabilities, than they would have been done for. All that work that had been done to bring them to the past would have been for nothing in that moment.

"And yet, Tou-san had still lost to that Magic God?"

It brought an even broader perspective towards what they were up against.

"What's the plan now, Arden-nii-chan?"

"The final stage in the experiment is underway as we speak, Hachi-san. I doubt Arden-san has any need to do much else now that Tou-san has returned to the stage."

Gathering his cool, Arden cleaned off the sweat on his face and answered as he walked over the remains of the heavily damage steel wall that appeared ready to fall apart at any moment. His gaze went over all those there; from the dead Skill-Out leader in their future, to the silver haired nun who would come to cease control of the English Puritan Church. His gaze stopped on Angela and Toka, noting the injuries on their person.

"It's as Shinzo-onii-san says; the final stage in the Event is underway. At this point, there is nothing we can do that will not interfere with the natural flow of events to come. Though we are the cause for it, the results to come must be decided by those who rightfully create the world and its history. The least we can do without getting in the way of Kamijou Touma is ease his mind and take care of his friends."

With his left hand stretched out, a healing spell was cast over those important figures.

"Seeing as things are about to get a little chaotic, I believe it would be safer to keep them here until it's safe to move them. After all, an embodiment of 2.3 billion Espers is running amok in its path for revenge against the world that had created her. That does make one wonder, doesn't it?"

A grin, full of a dangerous curiosity and greed grew on Arden's face.

"What would happen if the hopes and fears of all Espers gathered together? Just what exactly would be born from that manifestation of their voices shared as one?"

* * *

The remains of the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor should have been a warning to whoever dared to walk onto the scene and tell them to turn back now. Bodies were spread about like trash, rubble spelled the tale of destruction that had played, and a massive hole could be seen jutting out from the ground as if a massive lance had stabbed out from deep below the earth to pierce everything in its way.

Something had torn its way out of the nuclear facility. And that something was now making its way past District 10 for a straight path towards District 7.

The gang leader known as Viper had the unfortunate task with searching the large facility for any survivors. It was the last message Mila had sent him before everything had gone weird.

All around the city, he could hear the most transcendent song being sung by an unknown girl. Whoever it was singing had the voice of an angel in his opinion. But there was something about that voice that tickled him wrong.

Viper grimaced slightly, feeling his temple throb once again. Ever since that song began playing everywhere he went, he developed a growing headache. When he had the chance, he was looking for some painkiller's to deal with this shit. He deserved an entire pharmacy's worth after all the crap he had been put through. His face still needed a proper patch up thanks to that plain faced fuck.

"What the hell? Who the hell had the balls to ice Dangan? Shiiiiiiit, whoever busted his skull has my thanks."

With what left over members of Drop Out he had left, Viper had walked over the carnage of the Hoshi Reactor's entrance to the steps leading up. Once there, he found the familiar black and yellow hair belonging to the notorious arms dealer of District 10 and leader of the Gunners; Dangan Chishi. Viper whistled as he kicked the cold corpses body, finding himself impressed.

It wasn't any secret that many of the Top Dogs of Skill-Out, affiliated with Komaba Ritoku or not, weren't the biggest fan of the trigger happy molester. Even Viper, a ruthless thug who could care less with slashing an Esper's throat, felt himself disgusted by the Gunner's leader. There were some lines you just didn't cross. If it weren't for the large control Dangan held, and his ruthless military like tactics, he would have personally put a bullet to the bastard's head.

Oh well, one less problem for him to deal with in the long run of things. Considering he survived whatever that blond french brat was cooking right now.

"Times like this; I should have just stayed in the States. But nooooo! Why not go to Academy City? Become some killer ass Esper who could bend spoons with their minds? Get payed for being psychic! It's a once in a life time opportunity! What's the worst that could happen?" Viper exaggerated out loud while delivering a few more kicks to Dangan's corpse. Behind him, his gang nodded along in understanding.

Like their leader, they had all been fed false promises and hopes. All to fall short and end where they stood now. Powerless. Worthless. Weak. And reduced to nothing more than thugs who could only make up their shortcomings with guns and knives.

 _'All I wanted was to be just like them. To be special.'_

A much more intense headache split Viper's head like the edge of a blade scrapping from inside his skull. He grit his teeth, cursing the pain that he unknowingly shared with the others of his gang. All around, those fellow Level 0 thugs were gripped by a gnawing pain from within their minds.

That voice. . .it didn't belong to him. So, why was he hearing it?

". . . . ."

The sound of footsteps walking out of the entrance of the facility caught Viper's attention, enough to ignore the pain of his odd headache. Amid the heavenly song that continued to play in the background, the sound of those footsteps stood out to them for some reason. Viper turned his eyes up to the top of the damaged stairs splattered by blood and rubble, only to find a sight that caused him again to grit his teeth with a feral snarl.

At the top stood a plain faced Level 0. The boy's body was littered with numerous wounds ranging from slashes, burns, shots, and blunt trauma. He had no shirt, exposing his chest to the world and school pants that were close to filthy, red iron stained tatters now. But what had strangely caught Viper's attention from that boy was his right arm.

While the spiky haired boy's body was covered by wounds, his entire right arm was free of any scratch or blood. It alone stood free of any damage after all the fights he had walked through.

Viper felt a vein ready to pop at the sight of that Level 0 who had gotten in his way earlier this morning. He had really hoped that he wouldn't have to see him again.

"You're still kicking around here, Spiky?"

Touma didn't say anything back at first. Mostly because he was still trying to regain his bearings of the situation around him.

Earlier, he had been defeated by whatever had been born from Level Eater in the form of the girl that was Mila Etoile. A great and powerful attack had struck him with enough force to reduce everything beyond the field of negation his right had created to dust and pebbles. His body had finally realized just how damaged it had been and brought him to the edge of passing out on his knees. His right hand had been mangled, twisted, and rendered useless to his commands. There had been nothing more he could do for anyone.

And then a haze.

Touma flinched as his unharmed right hand gripped the side of his head as a disoriented stream of memories trickled into his mind.

He remembered three figures, boys(?), who had come out of nowhere when he had hit his last leg. And than they had begun speaking to him from what little he could remember.

Than there was a great deal of pain after words. Something. . .cruel had begun to emerge. And than there was nothing, no pain, no sinister presence, as if he had never suffered anything at all. It was like he had been seeing an illusion, that his right arm had never been cut off despite the fact he had seen his severed limb laying on a pool of red. He swore he could curl his own fingers even though his right hand was gone.

More was said, a conversation Touma couldn't recall that well. He grew worried, wondering what happened to his friends at the hands of those strangers. He wanted nothing more than to run back to them and make sure they were safe from harm.

A somber melody played in the background of District 10 amid a war among Level 0s. To many, it was nothing short of beautiful, sung by what could only be an angel descended onto the godless city that was Academy City. But to Touma, he could only hear the sorrowed cry of a lonely girl.

He still wasn't sure how he found himself teleported to the top floor of the Hoshi Reactor facility. Or how his mangle right arm had been completely restored. It didn't matter at the moment, he could ask all the questions he wanted later after he finished dealing with a girl caught in her own illusions.

His right fist could properly form a fist again. Which meant it had a lot of work to get to. Stumbling his way out of the building, Touma turned his sights to chasing after Mila. Only instead of finding any clues to her whereabouts, he found a familiar face at the bottom of the entrance stairs.

"Cobra?" Touma blinked at the sight of the dark skinned, dreadlocks haired thug.

"It's Viper, you fucking nosy bitch!"

"Really? Than why aren't you called Cobra? You seem to be able to strangle people with your chains; you didn't fight with poison earlier either. It would make much more sense to go with that logic when you think about it."

"You know, he's got a point."

"Why don't you go by Cobra? It sounds the same to me, boss."

"I think Cobra sounds more bad ass."

"Wait, I thought Cobras and Vipers both used venom? I don't think either one constricts."

"Than shouldn't we call boss 'Anaconda' or 'Python'?"

"What about Gator? I like Gator. It's fierce!"

Cobra could now feel that throbbing vein on his temple burst violently as he listened to the idiot conversation happening around him. At this point, his blood pressure could boil an egg.

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE DISCUSSING MY THUG NAME, DAMN IIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!"

The raging shout from the dark skinned American delinquent shut the conversation about his street moniker down with a flail of his chains striking the ground viciously. Viper was seething, his shoulders trembling as he stared up at the nervous faced spiky haired boy who was honestly the center of all the delinquent's trouble.

It had first started with that normal high school girl, who gave off a vague familiarity with that spiky haired delinquent look alike, running away with their target in broad daylight at the tram station. Than, just as he and a few of his boys were closing in on them, that spiky haired nobody butted into their business. All by himself, that high school boy had taken them out with just his fists; no weapons on hand at all, making them lose sight of Dr. Tatsumi which resulted in a threatening earful from that red suited motorcycle helmeted boy, Deadlock. To make up for their failure, they were to continue their objective of framing other factions against another to further rise the tension. And lo behold, just as they lucked out and found one of Komaba Ritoku's right hands, that same plain faced high school showed up to screw things up again!

And now? Once again, that god damned head of spikes stood in his way just as before. Every time Viper had failed today, it had something to do with that punk ass!

Viper had honestly had it. He was a notorious thug within District 10, one of the Top Dogs of Skill-Out who wasn't affiliated with that prick, Komaba Ritoku. Anti-Skill would love nothing more to catch him with his pants down and cuff him on the spot! He had killed more than enough assholes in his way to deserve the proper respect from those lesser than him!

And yet, that spiky haired punk looked at him as if he was nothing! As if Viper, leader of Drop Out, one of the Top Dogs of District 10, was just an annoyance.

Just like those high and mighty Espers who lucked out with a Personal Reality. Some average faced Level 0 who was no different than him, who was in fact lower than him, had the gall to look at him the same way someone with a Level 1 ability looked at him.

That was just something Viper couldn't stomach.

"Oh, I'm going to fucking enjoy this more than I really should." Viper sneered with a crack of his neck.

Seeing the pissed off gang leader take a step towards him with the intent of beating his fists into his face, Touma grimaced in frustration. Behind Viper's back, his gang had raised their guns and rifles to lock onto him, ready to fire at their leader's command.

Now was not the time to be caught in some pointless fight with a thug. There was someone who needed a reality check, and he felt he was the only one who had a chance of delivering that check up. Imagine Breaker was solely capable of stopping whatever Mila was doing. The newfound power she wielded may have been capable of annihilating an underground secret facility with just one attack, but it was still supernatural in nature. And it seemed that the only thing capable of cutting off that overwhelming power was his right hand.

That was why he needed to chase after that lonely girl with everything he had. He had already failed to reach out to her once. Now that he was given another chance to try, he was more than ready go at it again.

But Touma's misfortune would never allow such an event to play out so easily. Obstacles would always get in his way due to the very power that allowed him to face off against individuals well beyond his level.

With an internal growl of frustration, Touma spread his feet apart, his fist clenched tight, and positioned himself to evade whatever bullet hell would greet him.

"Lower your fucking weapons! Did you hear me tell you idiots to aim for that punk ass? Keep out of this; this is between me, and that bastard!"

Touma was stunned at what he heard, even more when those thugs lowered their firearms, albeit with hesitation and puzzled expressions. Like him, they were struggling to understand what they had just heard.

At this very moment, they could unleash every bullet in their chamber and score at least one critical hit. They had Touma cornered like an animal waiting to be slaughtered by a ring of fatal teeth.

Viper grinned viciously at the expression on Touma's face as he threw off his old summer school uniform, leaving him in nothing but the red tank top, his pants, and sneakers. He rolled his shoulders with a faint clink of the rope of chains wrapped around his shoulder to his elbow, loosening them up as he went on to explain the strange action to the others.

"Do I really look like the type of prick to just kill you like that? That's too easy, not to mention such a tactic reminds me too much of that piece of shit." Viper spat, both verbally and physically, at the cold corpse that was Dangan, "You've gotten in my way far too much to go without a personal beat down. I'll kill you, no doubt about that fucking fact, but it'll be because I personally bashed you into oozing red mush! I owe you a few punches after all!" he hissed, mentioning the bandages across his face from their first throw down.

"You want to fight? Now?!" Touma said in disbelief, "Do you even know what's been going on this entire time?! There's far more important things that need to be addressed than some stupid school yard fight! It's not just this district that's in trouble, but possibly all of Academy City! Don't you care about the innocent lives that you've put at risk with allying with Mila and Deadlock!?" he shouted in frustration.

"Don't care."

"What?"

"I said, I. Don't. Fucking. Care." Viper stressed with a narrowed gaze of indifference. He stretched his left arm over his chest, warming himself up for the long awaited beating at hand, "This was just a job for me anyways. That french girl with the fake sweet smile was just an opportunity to make some cash for causing trouble to people I already didn't care for. I don't care about her honey coated words of freeing us from Academy City's status of hierarchy, I don't care about something as retarded as revenge, and I certainly don't care about ruling over what's left of whatever shit show she's got playing right now. I'm simply in this for the Bank Cards, and the respect."

Touma ground his teeth.

"The respect?"

"Yeah, the respect." Viper grinned widely with a gesture of his arms spread out, "The only way a Level 0 like us get get any kind of street cred' is through busting down the skulls of others! Fear, brawling, intimidation; those kind of acts are the only way we can garner respect from those who think something as special as abilities makes them top shit! You know, there's an old saying I heard once back in the states; If you can make God bleed, people stop believing him as almighty. And that person to make god bleed, is seen as above god."

"So, what? You're whole plan was to harm Espers who were stronger than you, to gain some kind of notoriety akin to a god?"

Viper shrugged his shoulders casually, "That was what Drop Out strove for. Through whatever tactics we could find, with whatever weapons we could get our hands on, we failed Espers would make those 'godly' figures bleed and fear those below them. It's what I plan to do in the chaos that bitch Mila is stirring up. Spread the word that Viper is more than tough and resourceful enough to knock down even an Esper at Level 3 without any ability to speak of. And, if I see the chance, I'll hijack whatever little weapon Mila has gotten her hands on. I've been planning on back stabbing her this entire time anyways." he explained as if it wasn't any big deal.

He'd never trusted that french girl's plans. He knew that they were simply her little pawns to throw around the chessboard for her own agenda and goals. A snake recognized a snake. So, he had done his best to stay in her good light, to find some way to get close to her, and the moment he found her guard was down; strike with his own toxic fangs. But of course such plans had failed the moment the spiky haired punk got in his way to deliver Mila her key.

"That girl is a monster. She's more ruthless than me. A lost cause like her wouldn't be missed. After all, she's just another Zero who's worth no more than the dead lab rats surrounding us." with a twisted grin as he gestured his arm to the lump of cold, red soaked Level 0s around them.

The punch of another Level 0 had met another Level 0 without hints of hesitation.

When Touma had heard those callous words, his legs had sprang to send him leaping down the stairs with a chambered right fist to Viper's already bruised face with a ferocious roar. Viper had seen the blatant attack despite how quick it had been. He threw his left arm back and shot it forward to collide with Touma's fist with the sound of bones cracking against another.

Viper smirked at the raging dark eyes glaring into his own. Quicker than Touma could react, he let go of his fist to latch onto the high school boy's wrist. Left arms bulging from the strain, he spun Touma's body around and threw him to the ground.

Touma hit the ground with a roll, stopping on his side with a grunt. Several of Viper's men moved to help Viper with guns focused back on him.

"I said; Don't butt in. And I meant it." Viper commanded coolly.

The guns turned away from Touma as he gingerly rose back up to face the dark skinned gang leader again. His glare never left his face, causing Viper's smirk to grow further.

"What? Ya got something to say, punk?" Viper mocked before kicking off the ground with his fists set in a boxing form.

A flurry of right and left cross punches rained upon Touma, forcing him to throw his arms up to block the powerful blows that kept him stepping back. His face twisted through the barrage, finding Viper connect a few body blows through his defense. Those muscles on the gang leader weren't just for show after all.

"Come on! Fight back like you did this morning, when you got in the way of my plans! Didn't you spout some crap about getting in my way because you felt like it? Don't tell me; you don't feel like it now?! Were you just lucky back then?! A weak little Level 0 like you was just lucky, wasn't he!? There's no way that someone far below even a Level 0 like myself could ever seriously beat me! It was luck, right!? It's the only way a worthless Level 0 like you could have survived the streets of District 10 this far!" With a cruel laugh, Viper's fist slipped through Touma's forearms to drill itself into his left pectoral. It felt like an unseen force blew out his back and dragged his breath from his lung.

With a deep gasp, Touma's arms dropped. Leaving him wide open.

Viper grinned in victory and moved to throw all his weight into his next punch. But such an attack also left him wide open too.

Biting back against the pain, Touma clenched his right fist and threw it up with all his strength in the form of an uppercut swing. Viper was ready to curse as his arrogance got the better of him, only to find his tongue biting into his teeth from the connecting knuckles knocking below his chin.

"FFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!"

Viper screamed in both anger and agony. He stumbled back slightly, sticking his bleeding tongue out as red mixed with saliva dripped onto the ground. He held his chin, his face expressing a livid rage at the panting, glaring, spiky haired punk.

"W-Why. . .is everyone. . .so god damned obsessed with some number!?" Touma spoke between gasps for air.

It didn't make any sense to an amnesiac like himself. How could everyone in this city be so obsessed with the Level some machines and researchers handed down like it was the deciding fate of your future? It was just the label of one's AIM! A scientific marker to start off and grow from! And yet, because of that Level handed down to the students, it became the excuse to act as they did. They believed that their Level would excuse them for being arrogant, vain, deserving, weak, helpless, powerless, and cruel.

Exactly what kind of excuse was that for all the crap he'd seen?!

"Just because you're a Level 0, you think that allows you to turn to dirty tricks and cruel means to be better than those with an actual ability? You think that makes you better than those who do the same to you?! WHAT KIND OF BACKWARDS ASS THINKING IS THAT?!"

Charging ahead with another straight fist, Touma found his attack dodged with a well timed side step. But he didn't stop moving there; turning his left punch into a swinging elbow strike to the face. Viper found himself unable to block or evade, suffering the blunt elbow strike to his right cheek. The blow's force was enough to form a visible blue and green bruise on his face.

"How else do you expect us Level 0s to stand up against those assholes?!" Viper growled before throwing his right leg to strike the side of Touma's thigh. The heavy blow caused the high school boy to fall to his knee, leaving him open for the sneaker kicking his face back. He fell back to the ground with a grunt turned gruff shout as Viper lashed another kick to his face as he tried to get back up. Even though the kick disoriented him, he still found it in him to roll out of the way from the heavy stomp meant to cave in his face like brittle ice.

Blood trailed down Touma's busted lip that he cleaned off as he got back on his feet, just in time to deflect Viper's twisting fist with a swinging punch that careened the attack to the far left.

"It's only fair that we fight back with whatever cards we got under our sleeves! Without any power, we got to resort to whatever underhanded tricks we can to exploit those gifted pieces of shit who stare down at us like dirt! What's wrong with garnering respect with the only means we Level 0s can play?"

Catching himself in his stumble from the deflect, Viper twisted his foot, spinning on the balls of his feet to whip a roundhouse kick to the side of Touma's ribs. Touma threw his left forearm up, reacting in time to dampen the blow. It did little to stop the thug leader; several leg strikes struck at his forearm with fevered succession that left Touma grunting with grit teeth.

"I told you this before! Whether you like it or not, this is how we Level 0s get by! Through tooth and nail, we use whatever means to stand back up after being pushed down! That's what it means to be a Level 0 in this world!"

With a furious roar, Viper delivered one more lashing swipe of his leg to Touma's arm that broke his guard once again. With the loss of his throbbing left, Touma swiftly turned to his right arm and moved to mirror the jabbing cross fist to his face. Once again, the two Level 0s crashed fist against fist. Both refused to back down and fought to overpower the other with faces twisted in struggle.

"Get with the damn program, ya failure of a Zero! Even that high and mighty Komaba Ritoku results to these tactics to get by! So, why condemn people like you for doing their best to prove those higher fucks that we're not to be underestimated!?"

"Because normal Level 0s like me aren't so desperate for such excuses!"

From Viper's unseen left, that throbbing left arm he'd been kicking at ruthlessly flew up to smash the side of his face like a hammer. Several more fists followed suit, knocking the snake nicknamed thug around his feet like he was some movable punching bag. Droplets of red splattered the street with each echoing blow.

"You're right, those large majority of students who study hours on end to gain an ability all their own want nothing more than some form of recognition, or respect! But they'd rather earn that recognition through their own hard work, because that's what it means to be a normal Level 0! The one that needs to get with the damn program here, is you!"

Growing fed up with the back and forth of punches, Viper ducked under the next punch and skipped back a few steps. Bruised, face stained with splotches of blood, and sweating, he grinned none the less as he undid the coils of silver gleaming links around his bicep. Fuck playing fair, this was what Drop Out was all about! Fighting with whatever tools failed students like them could grasp to come out on top!

With the chains on hand, he swung them rapidly above his head like a lasso. And with a snap of his arm, he spun them around to coil tightly around his right arm as he raced back to the surprised high school boy. The links covered his wrist to his bicep in three inches of layered metal. It was almost as if he was wearing some kind of medieval chain mail armor.

"So, what? Do you believe that 'normal' Level 0 way of yours is better suited for stopping people like Mila than the ways of Level 0s like me?! If so, prove it! Don't give me cheap talk, show me what a normal Level 0 who rejects the way of Skill-Out can do in a city that preys on the weak!"

Taking advantage of the added weight wrapped around his right arm, Viper threw his arm straight out to strike against Touma's neck to perform a wide swing lariat. He spun on his foot, adding momentum to the neck snapping blow to send the high school boy flying like a rag doll across the street. Even without running over to check up on the damage he dealt to the spiky haired boy, he knew he delivered a crushing blow. The red seeping from his chains told enough of the story as did the cruel snap of bone.

Viper scoffed as he gazed at the unresponsive body of the nobody. Not a twitch. So, that was it then. Nothing but talk as he thought. How disappointing. He turned away from the defeated Level 0, not even bothering to deliver the killing blow. Just as fighting him, it was a waste of time.

"I will give that piece of shit this though; he was more durable than your average Level 0." Viper noted with a slight scowl.

Average normal Level 0, huh? If that wasn't some bull he had ever heard before. Your average Level 0 would have crumbled after one hit from him.

"Y-You want proof? Than. . .I'll give you proof!"

 _'. . .No. No, no, no, no! NO FUCKING WAY!'_

Viper's body locked up on the spot, his eyes snapped open in disbelief as he heard that oh so familiar voice again. His chains rattled in response to his body trembling to the sound of someone picking themselves off the ground from behind. He wouldn't admit it, but a sweat began to form on his forehead as he glanced back with a face expressing a livid bewilderment.

That nobody, a Level 0 with no weapons or real notable skills other than taking a hit, stood up right with his naked forearms raised up to continue the fight. Visible bleeding bruises in the shape of chains spoke of how he had taken the blow; raising his forearms up just in the nick of time to block the arm of weighted steel that threatened to crush his larynx. Another injury to add to the many others on his form that should have kept him down.

Eyes that refused to back down, bold with determination that Viper swore lit up with a gleam of burning willpower, stared back. Those eyes spoke of unyielding to whoever stood in their line of sight.

"Why?"

He didn't understand. That nobody wasn't even in any shape to be talking shit to begin with. It was obvious from just looking at him that he had been through hell already. Burns, lacerations, bruises, a sprain or two, and other wounds marred Touma's body. He should have been ready to keel over! And after adding in Viper's own blows to that spiky haired boy's already worn out body, it should have been enough to take him out. Yet, there he stood, up for another ass kicking.

Why? How?

Flinging his left arm out, Viper undid the remaining chains on his person to wrap his forearm with a clink of metal to deal fatal blunt damage. With both arms braced with hard steel, he charged back to that simple nobody with a frustrated yell.

"Why won't you just go down!? You're already swaying on your feet, filthy with blood and bruises! If you're really a Level 0, than just give up already! JUST FUCKING FALL TO YOUR OWN WEAKNESS!"

"Sorry, but this is how a normal Zero fights against those who look down on them! Believe it or not, but giving up isn't in the nature of Level 0s! What you call weakness. . .IS NOTHING SHORT OF STRENGTH!"

Touma didn't move to get out of the way of the charging swinging arms of muscle and steel. He breathed deeply, focusing his sights on the livid faced dark skinned thug leader's movements.

He didn't have some ace up his sleeve, some hidden power, or was in any position to gain some kind of awakening state at the last second. As always, he was going to match face someone much stronger, gifted, and clever with what the previous Kamijou Touma left him on that summer day.

As Viper reached him, Touma ducked under the spinning lariat that parted the air with a whish and swept his hair. And with his elbow, he stabbed it deep into the thugs spinning abdomen, stopping his momentum, and breaking Viper's attack. He didn't stop there, twisting on his leg, he spun around Viper's doubled over form and stood up right to smash his other elbow into his spine.

Even with his breath robbed and his spine crying out, Viper retaliated with a wide swing of his arm, striking Touma's chest with the added weight of five pounds. The blow should have knocked the spiky haired boy off his feet, but Touma endured with a visible show of ground teeth. He than latched both of his hands onto said arm, entangling his fingers into the coiled chains with a grimaced grin. What he did next was an old wisp from the previous Kamijou Touma's playbook.

Latched firmly onto his arm, Touma spun around, back pressed against the surprised thug leader, and with a surge of strength, threw Viper's body overhead and slammed him onto the street with all his dwindling strength. The force of the slam was enough to echo with the sound of of bone cracking as the snake moniker thug gasped hoarsely on his back.

For a good minute, Viper laid there on the street, gagging from the pain and loss of breath that he struggled to hold in. He couldn't move no matter how hard he tried to get back up. His entire back screamed as his muscles failed to get him up. It was like that single move had cracked his entire spinal column! As much as he didn't want to admit it, that judo throw had been more devastating than he thought it would be.

The fight between two Level 0s was over. And between a thug leader, and your average high school boy, the winner stood victoriously.

Touma panted tiredly, flinching as his newest injuries flared up. Great, even more wounds that he was sure a certain frog faced doctor was going to lecture him about. It looked like his left arm suffered a fracture somewhere. And even more to come, he was sure of it. Thank god for whatever weird drug one of those blurry figures injected him with. If it wasn't for that, he wasn't sure he would have the energy or will to move with his injuries. Brushing the sweat and blood from his face with his naked, bruised forearm, Touma scowled down at the defeated thug.

"J-Just s-stay there, and watch t-this Level 0 put an e-end to your m-mess!" Touma said between breaths.

Viper didn't say anything back, going silent. But he didn't have to.

The clicks of, about what Touma estimated on sound, twelve firearms spoke for him.

Right, he almost forgot about Viper's gang watching on. That was an important detail he should have took notice of.

 _'Crap!_ '

One of the thugs, dressed in some old school uniform with intentional tears here and there, and dyed dark red hair, stepped up from the ring of armed delinquents formed around Touma. The Drop Out thug sneered, aiming his handgun sideways at Touma.

"And where the hell do you think you're going, dead man? The only place you're going is two feet under the other dead fools around you!" he spat.

Touma gulped anxiously. Okay, how was he going to get out of this one? Other than Imagine Breaker, he didn't have any other tricks up his sleeve to handle Espers, especially Espers who didn't posses any abilities. Just guns. A whole lot of guns.

"Such misfortune."

Okay, what to do with the many, many, firearms ready to make him into oozing red swiss cheese? Fighting off one thug was do able. Maybe two. Three was drawing the line and he would rather run.

Thirteen? And with no way of escaping without adding a bullet to the list of wounds on his person? Touma's bad luck really was having a field day today.

"Oh, shit! Brake! Hit the brakes!"

The focus on the spiky haired boy with the plain face that had somehow managed to defeat their leader was quickly taken away by the sounds of tires hastily skidding along the road. Whatever rubble created from the earlier attack between Level 0s was thrown up in the air by what the Drop Out thugs could only make out as a heavily armored vehicle storming past the check point to their location. Clouds of dirt arose as several more followed behind, alerting them to a new enemy. No longer were the gun focused solely on Touma, but whoever stepped out of the armored vans.

Touma breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see that he was no longer the thugs target. He wasn't sure he could find a way out of that one without a miracle. And miracles didn't exactly have a thing for him. Actually, did this count as a miracle? For once, did some glimmer of luck fall onto the ever unfortunate Kamijou?!

A shot was fired. One of those Drop Out thugs fell to the ground with a bullet zipping through his left pectoral. Another bullet cut through the air, knocking down one of the thug's buddy's along with him with the splatter of blood. Like bowling pins, the rest of the remaining members of Drop Out were taken out with Touma could only guess as sniper fire through the veil of dirt hiding the newest faction's form. From the sounds of groaning and curses, it didn't appear that any were fatally injured.

As all other threats were taken out, Touma quickly found himself the center of attention of whatever group hid behind the slowly settling smoke screen. Ah, so that single golden grain of luck was actually the glittering gravel of Fool's Gold? As expected on one Kamijou Touma's fortune.

"Wait, is that Kamijou? The hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to scram!"

To Touma's further surprise, a certain headband wearing ninja/thug stepped out from the dirt clouds now lingering around their feet with a scowl.

"Hanzou?" Touma frowned, not sure if he remembered the Skill-Out who had treated his wounds after his first fight with Deadlock.

Hanzou quirked a brow, looking Touma up and down before smirking slightly. He noted all the wounds over his body, all due no doubt from several fights he had been caught up in while in the middle of the gang war.

"Are you sure you're not one of us? Because you're looking like your average no good delinquent to me." Hanzou chuckled.

Touma ignored the comment, addressing the more confusing matter. Like the half dozen heavily platted vans carrying Skill-Outs across the street.

"What are you guys doing? I would have thought you would still be dealing with all the fighting spreading around."

"We are. Even now, a few other of Komaba's Skill-Out is handling all the other idiots caught up in this mess. It's been a giant pain in the ass to deal with all those fakes further instigating the violence." Hanzou spat, "We've had to round up whatever remained of our forces and even patch up our old pacts with those who followed along with Komaba's leadership, to get those idiots to settle down, or go down. At the moment, we're rounding up what's left of the Skill-Outs under this unknown hidden boss who's caused this shit show, with a main team that I'm leading to go lend Komaba a hand. Last message I got from Hamazura was that he and Komaba were dealing with the the bastard responsible for all this crap at this nuclear plant." he said impatiently.

Thanks to Hamazura's messages to both Komaba and himself, Hanzou was able to learn of the bigger picture at play in all the chaos. So, it had turned out this entire street war was part of some prick's grand master plan for their own personal agenda? That boiled Hanzou blood to nearly erupt in a rage. All this fighting, all this bloodshed, all this back stabbing, all this death, was just a series of well played moves for some bastard hiding in the shadows of all the suffering these Level 0s had gone through.

Once he had learned of the reason for District 10's war on the streets, Hanzou had immediately took action to prevent that cowardly boss's plan from continuing any longer. He had gathered the remaining forces who followed Komaba's Skill-Out and moved to take out those who threw oil to the fire. It didn't matter who's factions those thugs belonged to, Hanzou took them out with the help of his brothers in arms. He did his best to not inflict any lethal wounds on those false Skill-Outs, but did use the opportunity to take out the more toxic factions while he had the chance.

In his move to diminish the fighting, he had also rounded up the factions that had once affiliated themselves with Komaba or at least stood on good ground with him. Factions like the newly reformed Big Spider, Punishment, and Lockpick were a few of the remaining standing gangs that had decided to lend their arms to shutting down all the ensuing fighting to return District 10 to its original state.

With a small army gathered together, all that was left to do was go to Komaba's aid. The unspoken leader of a majority of District 10 was currently engaging with the master mind of District 10's chaos at the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor alongside Hamazura. It wouldn't be much longer until everything was returned to normal. Or as normal as things could be after so many gangs had wiped each other out.

Craning his head in a gesture to leave, Hanzou went to work on ridding the road block.

"Look, I don't have time to waste on you anymore, Kamijou. We're in a hurry to put this crappy day to a rest, so run along back to your dorm or whatever. This is a Skill-Out matter. And we intend to deal with it." Questions of exactly why the spiky haired nobody was here weren't important.

They were on their way to the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor to help Komaba? Touma frowned grimly. It was a little too late for the cavalry to arrive. Mila had gotten what she wanted. Komaba and the rest were injured from her last attack and resting. The least the small army could do to help would be helping them out.

"I wouldn't do that. Mila's already left the Hoshi site and moved on to the final step of her plan. Not to mention the others can't be of much help now." Touma explained bitterly.

"The hell did you say?" Hanzou glared.

 _ **BOOOOOOOOM!**_

Before Touma could further explain, a massive eruption sent tremors running along the road, courtesy of the explosion overhead the buildings. The explosion was strong enough to nearly trip everyone standing as they all witnessed a brilliant ray of light shine from the center of the blast that could be traced to a nearby district. An unknown energy slithered up into the skies of Academy City, taking form of countless tendrils of pale blue light.

That newborn light in the wake of the city shaking blast was in District 7. Touma knew that without a doubt as he stared at the familiar overhead tendrils with a frustrated scowl. They branches of light stretched high into the sky as far as the eye could see.

Was he too late again? Was Mila already acting on her need for revenge and causing others to suffer in her war path to payback those faceless figures at the top of Academy City? Could he not even reach his hand out to stop her after coming this far?

No, there was no way in hell he was just going to accept that!

Hanzou found himself staring at the strange tendrils of lights that almost resembled wings with a dumbfounded expression before they seemed to glitch, vanishing without a trace. Just what the hell was going? Were his eyes playing tricks on him?

While the gathered small army of delinquents were busy scratching their heads at the sudden marvel of lights that disappeared like some illusion, Touma had begun to plan out his next move. Mila was no doubt responsible for the odd light. Who knew what she was capable now with the gathered mass of AIM she had absorbed. Every minute here was precious time he was wasting from stopping the girl from further crossing the line she seemed to be more than gleeful to tear apart.

His eyes wandered over to the gathered force of Skill-Outs. Or more specifically, the armored vans that were no doubt stolen. He was almost afraid to ask, but he really had no other choices laid out in front of him.

"Hanzou-san, can you do me a favor?"

Snapping out of his stupor, Hanzou nearly scoffed at the pleading expression on the spiky haired high school boy.

"A favor? I ain't got no reason to do you any since you're not part of Skill-Out. Besides, we're busy dealing with much bigger matters than listening to some high school idiots pleas. I don't have time to be further wasting it with you."

"LISTEN TO ME, DAMN IT!"

The eyes of all those Skill-Out watching the interactions between Komaba's right hand man, and some ordinary shirtless boy, grew wide in surprise as they witnessed said spiky haired boy grab Hanzou by the collar of his shirt. The random boy's eyes, who popped out of nowhere, glared at Hanzou with desperation, determination, frustration, and regret as he shouted his plea.

"Right now, all of Academy City is in danger because of someone suffering under the title of Level 0, just like all you! She's endured for years the pain of being told she was worthless, powerless, with no one to tell her any different! Like you, she couldn't take all the pressure, the mocking, the failure, or some stupid ass number! It had gone to the point she found herself swallowed whole by her own despair to turn her suffering onto others just like her! And now, she plans to bring down the cause of her pain while harming whoever so happens to come in her way. If we don't stop her, the other districts will resemble what remains of District 10!"

"So what?"

Touma's grip stiffened as Hanzou met the boy's glare with one of equal fury.

"If what you say is true, than this is Academy City's fault. It's because of those faceless figure heads, the Governing Board, and that bastard Head Chairman, that we Level 0s have turned to violence. You think this turf war is solely our fault? Who's fault is it that we're even Level 0s?! Who's fault is that we're treated like shit?! Who's fault is that we're seen as weak!?" Hanzou furiously argued back, butting heads with Touma.

Throwing the bruised right arm off of him with disgust, Hanzou turned his eyes ahead to the nuclear power plant.

"I don't know what the hell kind of crap you're spewing, and I don't care to listen. Whatever is going on over there doesn't concern us Powerless Zeroes; leave to those high and mighty Espers to handle their mess. After how this city had treated us, why should we bother lending them any kind of help?! Let those with Power save themselves."

Bare, cut and dried blood crusted, bruised knuckles slammed against the left side of Hanzou's face. The blow had nearly thrown him to the ground if he hadn't caught himself as he stumbled from the heavy blow. He found himself more stunned than in pain as he stared at the trembling shoulders of the spiky haired boy responsible for the punch. The ninja/thug couldn't believe such an ordinary boy could throw such a hefty hit!

"Powerless? Strong? Just what the hell does some stupid number have to do with protecting others!? What right does some label give you to play cruel!?"

By now all eyes fell onto Touma. No guns were drawn, everyone finding themselves listening to the odd spiky haired boy who had nearly knock down Komaba's right hand man with a single punch. Before they could act to the aggressive action, all of Skill-Out who followed Hanzou were taken back by the spiky haired boy's seething words.

"I'm sick and tired of hearing all this nonsense about Level 0s! So what if you're labeled as One Without Power?! Don't let it be an excuse to turn back on others in need because of something as idiotic as power ranking! That kind of cruelty is no better than the ones you've all suffered, right? Your lack of an Ability shouldn't be cause for you to give up on trying. Whether that means trying to break your limits, trying to reach your hand out to others, trying to break free from your past self, or trying to be kinder; you have that power to keep clenching your fists with a power that can't be defined by some stupid scientific label!?"

In front of a small army of Level 0s who had all gone through the stigma of being labeled the weakest in the city of Espers, Touma spoke to break through the illusion born by a number; a number that spoke of their apparent value to the city that owned them.

Level 0. That was the sole cause for everything today. The reason why this District had been abandoned. The reason why all these students had joined gangs. The reason why a turf war had erupted. And the reason why one girl had created such an event for her own means of revenge. And Touma had enough of it.

"Take a good look at yourselves! How are you any different than those now suffering at the hands of a Level 0?! Those cries, those pleas, those tears, HOW ARE THEY ANY DIFFERENT THAN YOUR OWN!?"

Without a doubt, others were suffering in all the mayhem Mila was causing in her trek to the Windowless Building. Someone was calling out for help with a weak voice. The Level belonging to that voice didn't matter, that cry for help was no different if it was uttered by even a Level 5. Did that mean that they had no reason to be saved?

Class? Level? Hierarchy? What the hell did that crap have to do with lending a simple hand?

Touma grew a fierce scowl as he began to step past the stunned Hanzou and the others Skill-Out gangs. He knew a simple speech wouldn't be enough to turn anyone over a new leaf. People weren't so simple. They needed to face their own weaknesses and faults head on before changing who they were. Arguing with a bunch of stubborn delinquents wouldn't get him anywhere any time soon.

"I'm a Level 0; one without any kind of Ability born from science or miracles. I've accepted being a Level 0, and I've learned to move past it. I won't allow it to be the reason why I turn my back to others, or to turn to mirrored cruelty to those above me. Because a Level 0 isn't some powerless coward with nothing but excuses to show for his work. And if you truly believe that's what defines Level 0s; stand back as I shatter those pathetic illusions!"

Exhausted, wounded, aching all over, Touma moved past the heavily armored vans with Skill-Outs on his destination to face Mila. He didn't look back to Hanzou for any response.

It didn't matter how long it took, he was going to reach that lonely girl and stop her. And he wouldn't let anyone or anything get in his way of that mission.

"You're not going to get wherever you're going on your own two feet in time, ya know? You'll be far too late to make up for your pretty little words without any kind of transportation."

An amused, silky voice, called out to Touma before he could step past the final stolen Anti-Skill van. He glanced back to the front door of the van and found the owner of the voice stepping out to meet him.

Touma blinked, finding his eyes going up to meet green twinkling orbs. The girl stood at six foot with a mane of silky creamy pink hair that fell to her waist, and a pale face that would belong to a high school beauty queen if it wasn't for the three inch long scar running across nose to her right cheek. Her clothing reminded him of the average wear of a girl delinquent; an open black leather jacket and white tank top that stopped right above her belly button, a long dark colored school uniform skirt that ended at her knees, and scuffed sneakers. To finish her outfit off, she wore a small military cap on her head and an Anti-Skill issued Stun Gun and Stun Baton clipped to her waist.

The pink haired female delinquent quirked her brow at Touma, smirking at the staring spiky haired boy. How curious, his eyes were meeting her own and not at her chest. Impressive.

"You gonna keep staring, Spiky Stuff, or are you open your pretty little mouth and say something?"

Touma gulped, feeling embarrassed. Not since he woke up with no memories did he met such a tall girl before. Or a female delinquent. Those were two clashing archetypes! Shaking his head, he closed in on what he heard from the cherry blossom hair colored delinquent.

"I'm sorry, but what did you say? It almost sounded like you were offering to lend me a hand." Touma said unsure with a scratch at the back of his head.

Said pink haired delinquent shrugged, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. It all depends." she said firmly, stepping closer to Touma to stare intently down at him, "Were you just spouting nothing but empty words to those idiots, or were you serious about proving to them that you were more than just what Academy City's labeled you? After all, it's one thing to spout boasting speeches; and another to act on those words with a firm stance."

The female thug put Touma on the spot, eyeing him up down. She took note of his already beaten form, the multitude of injuries that would have caused any normal delinquent to pass out or cry out in pain, and the bags under his eyes. The kid was worn out. He was in no condition to be going anywhere if she was to be honest. He was better off passed out in the streets.

Yet she found herself grinning broadly as that heavily wounded spiky haired boy responded to her question with an unwavering and relentless stare. She couldn't help but feel a tingle crawl along her skin!

"I don't need to prove anything to you, but trust me when I say I mean to make those words a reality. So, either get out of my way, or give me a hand to stop any further innocent people from getting hurt."

The pink haired leather jacket female delinquent leaned her head down, her expression hidden from Touma. Her shoulders began to tremble slightly before a roar of laughter erupted from her lips. For a moment, she was afraid she couldn't breath. It took Touma back as he stared at the scar faced beauty who surprised him with a slap of her hand on his shoulder.

She looked at him, clearly amused with some tears in her eyes as she grinned.

"She was right, you are something. I would have thought you were just some moron spouting a bunch of crap from his whiny hole, but she said that you were worth your words. While I'm still not entirely certain, I must admit; your eyes do add some weight to your lip service. Guess I'll just have to see if you live up to your own boasts, Spiky-kun."

Gesturing her head to the back of the van, the pink haired thug spoke with a smug smirk as she turned back to the driver's door. By now, the rest of those gathered Skill-Out had begun to make their way into the Hoshi Nuclear Reactor in search of Komaba, leaving only herself and Touma in the bloodied streets.

"Get in the back, Spiky-kun. We'll take you to where all the true action is. That friend of mine that vouched for you said she has a pretty good idea to where you want to go, and I might as well do something besides following some punk who can't even respond back to a boy who could fall over at the slightest of push. If what you say is true, than it's only fair that a Level 0 settles the chaos of another Level 0, rather than higher leveled Esper."

Not waiting for a response from Touma, the pink cream haired female delinquent made her way into the driver's side, and shut car door, leaving the poorly confused teen boy. Touma scratched his cheek, turning his eyes to the back door of the armored van with knitted brows.

"She?"

Someone vouched for him? A complete stranger who said he meant every word he said without ever meeting him? He couldn't help but grow curious as he moved to get in the back.

* * *

"Zzzzzz..."

Meeting said mysterious stranger hadn't gone as he expected.

Touma wasn't sure how, but the girl who's head rested on his shoulders was able to sleep through the bumps rocking the back of the van designed to restrain Espers on their journey to the District 7. Even stranger was the fact the girl's eyes remained open even in her sleep, her vacant dark eyes staring at nothing as she snored lightly. Even as another bump in the road caused the inside of the armored van to bounce Touma's body up, causing his wounds to cry out, the sleeping, dull eyed girl didn't so much as blink in her sleep or react as her body bounced beside the boy she had never met.

 _ **Boing!**_

 _ **Twitch.**_

A light haze of red dusted Touma's twitching face as he couldn't help but notice the impressive bust of the older girl bounce with every motion. Seriously! The girl's jiggling capital D mounds were ruining the tense lead up to the final battle! This wasn't the time for such events!

The girl in question had dark blonde hair, braided like twin snakes overlapping the other to fall all the way down to her waist. Unlike the other delinquents, she didn't wear leather or her old school uniform. She instead wore a tight fitting black and gray windbreaker jacket with a figure tight pair of yoga pants along with bright yellow sneakers. Her eyes were a simple stony black, nearly dull as they continued to stare off in her sleep.

Touma hadn't gotten the girl's name when he had hopped in, having the door shut behind him with a click before the creamy pink haired leather jacket female delinquent drove off with the pedal to the metal. Once the stolen Anti-Skill van had hit the streets with a thunderous vroom, he had been knocked in and found himself slamming into the dozing girl who didn't make a sound when a strange spiky haired boy's face had rammed itself to her cushy chest. All she did was give a light snore.

The memory of such soft, bouncy, airbags meeting his face caused Touma's face to once again heat up. Well, at least she hadn't done the stereotypical beatdown like most girl's in her position would have. Though she hadn't given him a slap to his face, she hadn't really done anything at all. That was kinda bothersome. It was kinda like she wasn't even there.

A rough turn from the stolen vehicle brought a deep hiss to escape from Touma's dry lips. His entire body was a mess of various wounds he had accumulated through out his adventure in District 10; a simple poke at his body was enough to warrant a yelp of pain. He'd been beaten with knuckles, cut by knives, grazed by bullets, burned by explosions, shocked by stun weapons, lashed by chains, and even sliced by winds. All before lunch had even come to challenge his wallets ability to fed a monstrous nun's appetite.

That was one Kamijou Touma's life. Or, at least the current Kamijou Touma's life now. One full of misfortune at every turn. Despite wanting nothing more than your average normal high school life, he would seem to find himself heading off towards the greatest misfortune rearing its head close by. It had only been a few weeks since Touma had been 'born' and he was once again battered to such a degree that would have put any normal person to fall apart on their knees.

When Touma stopped to think about it; how did that Original Kamijou Touma withstand such ventures? Just how powerful and determined had that original boy been? Even now, Touma could feel his eyelids begin to weight down from the exhausting chain of events that have lead to his near death more times than he could count. Whatever drug he had been injected with to help him this far was beginning to lose its effect. At any moment, he felt he would lose the strength to continue on. Just one blink, and he would be out of the fight.

He couldn't help but grin bitterly, a bitter grin that spoke of unfair stroke of luck he had been left with.

Mila had said that all her wrath had been the fault of Academy City and its faceless figures, right?

Than, couldn't Touma himself say that his misfortune was the fault of that faceless hero who had abandoned him to live in his stead? That even Mila's suffering was the fault of that grand Level 0, who seemed capable of doing what he couldn't, who failed to hear her cries of help?

This entire situation; being powerless, having little funds to support himself and two nuns, the ever-present bad luck, the sense of wanting to save complete strangers to the lengths of putting his life on the line, the fake life and sense of right and wrong; wasn't that the fault of Kamijou Touma?

 ** _'GRRRRGGGGGWWWWWIIIIEEEEEEE!'_**

A terrible, ill yet relieving, shredding sensation ran through Touma's right arm. As if some unseen Thing was shaking and rattling from a cage it wanted to shatter. The drop in his mood, the slow realization that his terrible day, and days to come, were the fault of that Level 0 who abandoned him to take his cursed place, resonated with that terrifying sensation.

His weakened body, tired mentality, and drained stamina, caused that simple Level 0 to begin doubting his own wishes. Wishes he questioned; were truly his own to call his own, or just that ghost's ever demanding will. He couldn't help but silently ask, his teeth scrapping against another like grind stones, his fist trembling weakly;

 _'What. . .what can I call my own?'_

". . .Kamijou-san?"

A voice, soft and lazy, speaking with what sounded with a yawn close behind her words, broke Touma's sullen thoughts. He looked to his right, finding those same stony onxy eyes now staring back at him with their head still resting on his shoulder. He couldn't help but grimace in guilt. Did she wake up because of his trembling? And yet, the bumps on the road didn't so much as get a frown of discomfort. What a weird girl.

"Ah, sorry if I woke you up, GoGa-chan."

The Snoring Girl didn't show any displeasure from the nickname of the stranger who didn't know her name. Strangely, a small, almost unnoticeable tug of her lips could be seen. As if she had already gotten use to the nickname from an old friend she hadn't seen in long time.

"It's. . .fine. I was just. . .taking a light nap. Are we almost. . .there yet?" she asked in sleepy tone. He couldn't tell if she was still tired or if that was just how she normally talked.

The mention of their destination to a girl who wished to topple Academy City caused Touma to scowl bitterly.

"No, not yet. I don't know when we'll get there honestly. Or how you girl's are able to pin point the location of Mila-san's rampage."

It wouldn't be long though. He could feel it, a chill in the air from even within the heavily armored vehicle designed to withstand attacks of Espers. Eventually he would have to confront that suffering girl and put an end to her delusions. Because that was what the lingering embers of Kamijou Touma pushed him to do. And to protect the smiles of those who continued to hold that Kamijou Touma in their hearts, he wouldn't fight the pulls and tugs of those embers with wills of their own.

That was just. . .his misfortune. That was what he, the current Kamijou Touma, could call his own.

". . .There's someone. . .who's in pain. . .right?"

Touma slightly jumped at the snoring girl's voice. Those dull dark eyes looked at him, searching through him almost knowingly. He turned his eyes away, nodding slightly as he thought to Mila.

Someone was in pain. And the Original Kamijou Touma's abandoned heart demanded him to save that girl.

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why. . .are you going to save them? Why you?"

It was a child like question, full of an innocent curiosity as if she was asking why the sky was blue. And yet, it carried a heavy weight to Touma as his face grew conflicted. He fought the doubt with a simple smile, answering honestly. Just as the previous Kamijou Touma would.

"Because I can't stand to let that person suffer and ruin her life out of something as foolish as revenge. It just wouldn't sit right with me if I just stood aside and let her destroy herself. It would go against everything Kamijou Touma believed in to ignore her silent cry for help."

What Kamijou Touma believed was that no one should have to suffer and live without a smile on their face. Without even being told that, Touma had learned of that unmistakable thought process and belief when he had awoken to a silver haired holy Sister. That shaken, teary smile was all that he had needed to go by as to what the previous Kamijou had wanted from him. And he would live up to that will. . .because he honestly had no other idea what to do if he didn't.

That was just the sad, unfortunate truth.

". . .Does. . .it make you happy?"

. . .Happy?

He found himself turning back to face the sleepy faced blond braided girl, his face speaking of surprise and confusion. Her question was one that he found himself asking himself.

 _'Does. . .does following along to those embers of that Level 0. . .make me happy?'_

Even though he found himself being beaten, left in the hospital, growing hungry at not being able to fully fill his stomach, never having enough money to pay for things he needed or wanted, and was labeled as One Without Power in a city that valued potential; was he happy?

 _'Touma!'_

An elated, excited, voice full of joy happily cried out his name. The face of that silver haired Sister he now cared for in place of his previous self came to mind. A girl only two years younger than him who ate with the ferocity of a collapsing star, who acted like a brat, and bit him for the slightest misunderstanding. Someone who was more of a nuisance than a friend.

What was the answer to that innocent question, you may ask? That simple answer laid in the boy's expression.

A warm smile grew on Touma's bruised, blood dried, faced as his vision grew misty.

That sense of happiness, of warmth, was something that he could call his own, right? Though the previous Kamijou had most likely felt the same way; this emotion was his own to call and treasure, right? And everything else he had felt after every fight, the sense of relief and happiness born from saving the smile of some complete stranger; that was undoubtedly in his own right, as a human being, to claim his own? Even if he was simply a husk living this life on a borrowed heart.

"Yeah, it does."

It belonged to Him. Not the previous him, but _Him_.

The shaking stopped. His clenched fist relaxed.

The uneasy presence in his right arm melted away as Touma breathed deeply, thankful that his brooding had been thrown away. What was up with him anyway? It wasn't like him to give in to despair. He scratched the back of his spiky head with embarrassment. He must have been really exhausted from his stay in District 10 to be questioning why he was going to save someone.

The reasons didn't matter. It just felt like the normal thing to do. Whether that was because of the previous Kamijou Touma or not, as long as he could honestly say that the end result of what he did made him happy, Touma would continue to do whatever he believed was right.

Because that decision was what he could honestly call his own.

The sleepy faced girl made a sound of amusement, seeming to be happy with his own honest answer. Uncertainty no longer painted that spiky boy's face, only a firm resolve. And she was pleased to see that.

It wouldn't do to see the man who had made her father who he was in the future, with such a pained expression on his face.

"Thank you, GoGa-san."

". . .Zzzzz."

"You're asleep again, aren't you?" Touma said exasperated, his words of thanks to the dozing stranger going on deaf ears as he dropped his head, "Couldn't you have at least told me your name?"

Another bump in the road rocked those inside of the back of the Anti-Skill van as they came closer to their target. And in that rattling metal van, he could have sworn he heard a light mutter.

". . .Hirunehime."

* * *

The path to happiness had to be obtained with one's own hands. Not through the hands of others, not with the aid of strangers, and not on the prayers of faith. No, to obtain one's happiness, ones wishes and desires, one had to grab a hold of them with their own hands. Mila realized that now.

Mila should have made those faceless figure heads, who judged and labeled her worth to the world, recognize her potential. Even though she remained stagnant at Level 0 for so many years despite all her hard work, she should have gone about discovering ways to threaten, blackmail, force those up top to show her parents that she was worth enough to be loved. Instead, she had sulked and given them silent scorn. She had wished for power, when instead she should have gone out to find it. It didn't matter where she would find it, from the underbelly of Academy City's Darkness, through the gangs who also loathed their status and regularly caused the city trouble, or through the lowly whispered occult that went against what the city of science taught them to believe; she would take the power to make those who turned her into a worthless symbol among zeroes.

But Mila knew better now. She truly did. It was why she had gone along with her new friend's plans after he had gotten her to open up to him in less than an hour. He had promised her power, the ability to prove to those faceless researchers that she wasn't as weak as they stated. All she had to do was take it for herself.

It was as if a spark of Rebellion had been ignited in her heart from that boy's words.

"Take cover! All those who can still stand, form a barricade and aid the students to a safe z-AAAAGGGHHHH!"

The streets of District 7, a district that was primarily designed for middle and high school institutions along with their dorms, were in flames. The heat of the destruction created heat lines, seeming to warp the very area with odd flickers of overlapping outlines. The chaos wrought by the hacked autonomous robots that were programmed to care for the students lives were once again engulfed by fighting. But unlike last time it wasn't a small army of machines.

It was one girl responsible for all the destruction.

From the street underneath their feet, Yomikawa watched as the asphalt rose up by the command of a Judgment member with the ability to control and mold earthly materials and form a wide wall of durable stone like a curved crescent. The newly made barricade stood ten feet tall, towering over them with a shadow that hide them from what laid behind.

Yomikawa rose her riot shield up alongside other remaining Anti-Skill officers in the shadow of the stone wall. Several students, Levels 0-3 stood behind them, huddled together in the wake of the monster that attacked them in the lull of violence from earlier. They all knew despite the asphalt wall that stretched a great deal to protect from any attack from the front, that it was pointless.

Cracks couldn't be seen. For the force that completely demolished the street wall created by a Level 3 Terrakinesis resembled a flashing light of obliteration. Even the riot shield created to withstand Level 3 and possibly Level 4 abilities shattered as all those behind the barricade were swept back by the crashing ability.

It had taken all of Yomikawa's remaining strength to remain standing in the wake of whatever ability reduced their defenses to nothing. She panted with sweat trickling down her face, blood trailing down her forehead from a piece of rubble that struck. Her Anti-Skill uniform and armor was butchered, torn apart in various places. The riot shield in her hand had been reduced to a small shoe box sized piece of tempered protection held by the handle.

 _'What the hell is she?! How could she posses such firepower? It's almost as if she's fighting with the ability of a Level 5! Just where did a monster like her pop out from?'_

A cloud of rubble lingered in the open streets that spoke of countless attacks of varying abilities. Fire cackled, sparks zipped along metal surfaces, ice melted under the sun, and pillars of stone cracked. It was almost as if an army of Espers had gathered for some kind of retaliation against the city.

But no, it was all caused by one student. One who walked alone with a sinister aura.

As the dirt cloud settled, Yomikawa warily watched the girl slowly walk closer to them.

The girl appeared to be sixteen, her platinum hair reached to her waist with drill tips that fell to the sides of her face. She could be mistaken for a foreigner with her features that were nothing like ones born in Japan. But that was were her human resemblance stopped.

What could only be described as a mass of torrential magenta energy flooded from the foreign girl's back in the form of countless ribbon like wings that touched the skies above. An odd substance, a deep seeping purple formed around the girl's arms like a membrane to form a set of thin yet powerful lanky clawed arms. The girl's wide eyes were absolutely glowing with red gleam of raging hatred for all things in her line of sight with an inhuman creeping grin on her face. And even more strange was the odd segments of lines circling her head, almost resembling a halo of sorts.

Yomikawa absolutely hated to think it, but the girl didn't even resemble a human any more. Her appearance was nothing short of demonic.

The Anti-Skill officers that joined her to protect the students not capable of fighting, alongside the members of Judgment, were still trying to regain their footing and stand back up from the devastating attack as she alone stood in the way of that demonic Esper girl.

A lip stretching grin grew in the face of seeing the blue haired woman still standing in Mila's way. All others had fell, but this one woman stood tall with a firm, stern glare of an adult. It was amusing.

"Oh! So, despite being One Without Power, you go against your label and still stand? My, my, aren't you a tough little officer?" Mila coed sweetly as she swept her right arm to the far side.

A single finger was laid out. From that skinny, twisted finger tip, a roaring clump of tangled sizzling deep orange-red flames grew at double her height. At the summoning of cruel flames, those mass of wings on her back released a faint pulse of bright red as it was fed the calculations of countless Espers who specialized in Pyrokinesis from Levels 1-4.

Among those students and even Judgment members in her line of sight, two of them suddenly doubled over in excruciating pain. They screamed as they felt a terrible splitting headache from deep their minds, as if an invading bug had wormed itself in their brains before clamping down its greedy fangs into the folds of their thoughts. They grew silent, their eyes dulling with an empty gaze as they hit the ground without another word.

A devious smile greeted Yomikawa and the few members of Anti-Skill and Judgment rose back up.

"Tell me, officer; Where is the quickest way to the Windowless Building? I think I might be a little lost. Won't you help this poor lost child on her way?"

A mad giggle followed the clump of unstable flames that was launched at Yomikawa and the rest. It sped with a growing vicious bright yellow light that scorched the battered road below it in its path. Yomikawa grit her teeth, knowing she lacked any ability to possibly defend against such a sure kill move. She was a Level 0 after all.

"Get down, Officer-san!"

The shout and instincts warned Yomikawa to duck down as a platinum blur sped overhead. She watched with a baited breath as a student, not a Judgment member, flew off her feet with a coat of green sparks running along her body towards the mass of blazing fire. She moved to stop the female student, to tell her to turn back and run away with the rest of the students, but found her words falling silent.

Why?

Because she just witnessed the platinum, ringlet haired student in rich Tokiwadai uniform clench her fist and completely snuff out the racing blaze with a mighty punch. The force that impacted against the blaze was enough to create a buffet of wind to blow past the girl and slightly push those Anti-Skill officers and fellow students back on their feet.

Even Mila found herself stunned by the display of superhuman strength by an Ojou-sama. It was true those who attended Tokiwadai Middle all possessed abilities that were at least Level 3, but it was hard to believe such a dainty girl of such high class status could perform such a brutal blow. Mila furrowed her brow, her mind searching for how the platinum haired girl could do such a thing.

Level Eater had done its job, and so had those tools known as Skill-Out. The final phase of the operation was underway now that her mind had linked with all those Espers in Academy City. She was the Administrator of The Level Eater Network, having free control of the amassed computation power of 2.3 billion students and their abilities. It could be said she was now a physical human representation of the Bank, the share of all the recorded abilities in Academy City.

You could no longer label her with the title of One Without Power; Level 0. She was beyond such an insult. She was a walking mass of combined AIM that could replicate any Ability connected to The Level Eater Network. Her calculating ability was something that even Level 5s would balk at, she was sure of it.

At the moment, she was the closest student in Academy City to ever see the line breaking through human boundaries into the realm of the divine.

She was the one with the truest potential of reaching SYSTEM; Level 6.

Several pulses lite up the AIM wings stretching from her back to the skies of Academy City, but yet she could not find what she was searching for. Mila scowled in displeasure. True, she now possessed the ability to replicate and even Level Up whatever ability connected to the The Level Eater Network, but it had only just awoken. It would take time until she could gain complete and refined control of her mass of abilities. Right now, searching for such a unique ability was like looking for a rare coin in a pool of coins.

No matter, all Mila had to do was just rid the girl in her way. She had all the firepower and ability to do such now.

"You know, I truly mean you all no harm. I swear. If you all just moved out of my way, you would live a lot longer. I have no business with Espers and Level 0s; my sights are locked onto the one who stands above all others." Mila spat as she stretched three of her right hands fingers out.

Another mass of raging flames was summoned, this time alongside a lump of crashing waves and sparking electricity. It was a Multi-Skill ability, something only ever done by the creator of the base of Level Eater; Harumi Kiyama. A feat that was all but impossible by any student, no matter their Level.

Hokaze Junko, the platinum purple ringlet haired girl who blasted the previous blast away with a punch, stood her ground in the face of such an impossible skill. A sheen of sparks from her Rampage Dress popped around her right fist, the very fist that had met against the twisting flames that melted the streets like butter.

To those who had never seen or heard of her unique ability, Rampage Dress; Heavenly Garment Equipping, was an ability that allowed her to manipulate the electrical signals in her body's cells for a variety of feats comparable to super humans. It allowed her to increase her strength, her speed, her senses, and even regenerate.

The superhuman punch was due to her manipulating her arms muscles to deliver a monstrous blow while simultaneously speeding up her bodies cells to regenerate the burned skin.

Of those students who were monitored to posses the potential to reach Level 5 next, Hokaze Junko was one of them.

It was that Level 5 candidate that now stood in Mila's way with several pops of electrical sparks running rampant on her body's figure. Junko met Mila's displeased stare with an adamant glare.

"You mean to harm more in your rampage, do you not? Such behavior is very unladylike for someone of your power. Do you not care for the lives you trample on in your reckless walk?" Junko questioned with a disapproving frown.

Mila nearly erupted with laughter at the ringlet girl. Was she an honest to god Ojou-sama? She thought that was just a stereotype!

"I thought I told you to get lost, Ojou-san! But if you really want to be an eyesore, than I'll help by turning you into a disgusting smear on the bloody streets!" Mila roared gleefully before aiming her elemental orbs at the Rampage Dress girl.

At the sidelines of the two powerful Espers, Yomikawa had already used the momentary distraction to help the few officers and the two collapsed students away from the line of fire. She didn't like the idea of any child being dragged in adult matters like this, but she needed to make sure no others were hurt either. She went back to pulling the ringlet haired girl away from the dangerous Esper of unknown Level once the heavily wounded were out of the way, only for her eyes to grow wide as a ball of rushing water appeared in her line of sight.

Junko's face was frozen stiff, having witnessed the orb of water double the size of the foreign girl blink out of thin air. Against what scientific laws she had learned of Esper powers, she had witnessed another Multi-Skill.

Teleportation+Hydrokinesis.

"Bye, bye, Officer-san~!"

One might say; How could a ball of water ever pose any kind of harm? After all, all it would do is get one wet and soak their clothing. How could you ever get hurt by water being thrown at your face?

Well, water carries weight. Imagine a water jug commonly found in an office to dispense water. If one were to pick up, how much would it weigh? 41.7 pounds. Now, imagine all that weight smacking into your face. It would be enough to smack a grown man off his feet with a broken nose.

Now, imagine that at twice the size of a teenage girl in the form of a ballistic ball. Such a blow would no doubt be fatal.

More than a hundred pounds of blunt aqua death shot at Yomikawa. She immediately acted to defend with her riot shield, only to curse loudly as she only found small remnant attached to the handle of the shield. She couldn't even dodge at such distance.

It was over.

"Wannai!"

"On it!"

Before that mallet of a water ball could crash into the blue haired female officer, it was suddenly broken apart into clumps of water that swam around Yomikawa. She stared at the dispersed attack with confusion until she found two girls step by both of her sides.

Both girls were of Tokiwadai, wearing the standard tan vests and skirts. One had wavy light brown hair with a pretty face that also spoke of gentleness. The other had dark bluish hair that went down to her waist with matching eyes and soft features that equaled her friend's air of kindness.

Junko recognized the two girls from school, and as the two friends of a rising Level 4 Aero Hand user.

"Wannai-san, Awatsuki-san?!" she shouted in shock before finding herself on the receiving end of two cannon shots of fire and electricity by the magenta demon girl. She activated her Rampage Dress, using her increase in speed to dodge both attacks as they crashed into an abandoned bank close by with explosive booms.

They were still here? She would have thought they had left with the other Tokiwadai girls that had strolled out for lunch before the first attack by the malfunctioning bots. She knew for a fact she had sent the other girls that were part of her Queen's clique to leave and inform her of the sudden attack.

Mila noticed the two girls who seemed to want to join in on the fun. She grinned, sending a pulse of red up the network of AIM she was connected to to disable them.

The Level Eater Network actively ran and devoured the Levels and Abilities of all the students who had heard her little song. Thanks to the Skill-Outs she had under her thumb, she now had several Radio Towers in the form of obelisk's created by Arden to send her song to ever piece of hardware in the city. Her MELODY should have been heard by everyone. There was nothing more infections to act as a virus than song after all.

And when Mila searched the network for an ability to use, she connected with those countless Espers minds. Sadly for those students, it created a backlash to them that rendered them unconscious and fall into a coma. All she needed to do was search for Hydrokinesis and both girls would be out of the fight!

. . . .Nothing.

Now Mila was growing frustrated. Her all powerful network and power couldn't even lock on to their ability. It seems they were another case of unique abilities. Simple powers like elemental kinesis, she could take with ease. But the more complicated ones were still just out of her reach at the moment. The best she could do was do a random search and get lucky enough to knock one of them out, like a game of Russian Roulette.

No matter, it was much more fun to take her ever expanding abilities out for a spin.

"The is your last warning, ladies. Get. Out. Of. My. WAY!"

Mila tapped the ground once. A tremor expanded to shake the entire street before small fissures ran along the road like scars. The warning should have been enough to send even grown men running in fear of a child.

And yet, despite how nervous the Tokiwadai girls appeared, their faces glistening with an anxious sweat of the monstrous aura she gave off, they stood rooted in place.

"I don't know what you're planning, but whatever it is, it would mean the harm of others. I can already guess that everything that's happened so far has been the cause of you." Junko said firmly as she squared her shoulders.

Several students and adults had been harmed by the riot of robots. Even a few of her own clique had been taken away due to injuries that would leave scars. And when the violence had ended, a new threat had shown up to take its place. The two couldn't have been unrelated.

Junko had every right to leave, to seek safety as any school girl would do. But in the face of the cause of all that pain and hysteria that threatened many others, she found her feet couldn't move back. Only forward.

Wannai and Awatsuki were in the same boat. Their friends had been harmed, the adults who acted as their shields were badly wounded, and a person who acted so noble, the picture of an Ojou-san, stood to fight of some threat for their safety by herself. For reasons they couldn't explain, they gulped anxiously and moved to stand beside Junko with nervous fists.

There was no shame in running. But their was no pride in leaving a fellow student behind.

"If you wish to hurt others for some pointless purpose, than we have no other option than to stop you! No matter how strong you are, we'll take you down with everything we have! For anyone who means to relish the destruction of all that lays in their path and harm students is an enemy of Tokiwadai!"

Those three Espers of a the famous Tokiwadai Middle stood together in the face of a great threat with brave faces. And they would fight with their all to protect those around them.

"Boring~!"

A bolt. A bolt of reddish black tinted lightning stroke down from the skies like a fanged cobra. In a single moment, that very vile bolt of electricity called down from the torrent of wings annihilated the three girls in a flash of white before Yomikawa's very eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Eyes stricken with tears, she could only watch as that lightning bolt obliterated the street and vaporized everything into not even dust. Yomikawa's legs went to jelly, causing her to nearly stumble back. She watched those brave girls stand up to that demonic girl while the adults could only watch. Their job was to protect and for the kids to stand back; not the other way around.

As an adult, she failed. Utterly, absolutely, completely, failed.

"T-That. . .was a close one!"

Yomikawa's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. In blitz of sparks, she found the ringlet haired girl appearing in front of her with the other two Tokiwadai ladies in her arms. Junko's entire body was like a haywire of circuits, popping with bio-electricity that went to work on healing the heavy damage of the lightning bolt.

At the very last second, she had utilized her Rampage Dress's abilities to its limits. Not only did she dodge a strike of lightning, but also pulled both Wannai and Awatsuki out. Though it was a hair's breath away and still suffered a few shocks that should have left her skin a charred mess.

Wannai and Awatsuki were barely awake. Like her, they had suffered some damage along with whiplash from her superhuman maneuver. Despite being Espers, they were still human. Their bodies weren't meant to be moved at the speed they were pulled from.

Yomikawa breathed a shuttered breath of relief. She wasn't sure if there was a god, not with everything Academy City had taught her, but if there was; Thank god they were safe.

"Do you understand now? How pointless it is to put on a brave face and play hero? That I can in any moment utterly decimate everyone here? If not, how about another demonstration?"

The students and officers watched as Mila lifted her hand up high above her head, aiming one finger up at the gathered mass of AIM wings connected to her. Than they witnessed another impossible feat.

It wasn't just flames she summoned, but a gathering of elements. Balls of fire that ranged in hues of temperature, chunks of ice swimming in waves of water, bolts of lightning striking the ground like fevered hammers all around her, columns of earth born from nothing along with crystals and metals. A gathering of elements controlled by kinesis, a show of earthly forces manipulated by one girl was as displayed to them.

All at the tip of her finger.

 _'Is this. . .still too much?'_

Mila was thankful for the attentive stare at her performance. Otherwise they would have seen the chink in her armor.

Her forehead pulsed visibly from the strain of such an act. Small trickle of blood seeped from her nose. And her vision grew blurry.

At the same time, she could hear them. All the voices connected to The Level Eater Network.

Arrogant, nervous, pleading, sorrowful, prideful, sadistic, weak, powerful, hopeful; all manner of voices shouted in her hammering head. The voices of all those she used spoke to her and relieved all their stress, wishes, fears, and expectations to her to the point she nearly blacked out.

But Mila fought back against the tremendous strain with a vain grin.

It didn't matter. Whatever pain or suffering she was delivered for this mass of power didn't matter a damn to her. Even if it meant she was destroyed from the inside out, it didn't matter. Not as long as she could achieve her goal before than.

Balling her fist, Mila compressed all those elements of nature into a hovering star of bright light. Like a small miniature star overhead, she held it like a hammer, ready to smash those who stood in the way of her most cherished wish.

Yomikawa knew that this was it. From what she could see of the platinum haired ringlet girl, she was still recovering from that one amazing feat. The others of her group were still out of breath and injured. She was the only one who stood in the way of destruction with the ability to run away.

"Get behind me, NOW!"

Her shout held no room for protest. Even though Junko was a Level 4, a possible Level 5, she was still a child. And when adults spoke in that tone, their was no arguing.

Yomikawa smiled gratefully to the girl and the others who now huddled behind her back. She was the only one could properly stand, the only not wounded or exhausted to a crippling degree, the only who could do anything.

She could run. Save herself and live another day. She was only in her late twenties for god's sake! She hadn't even married yet. She still had a bright future ahead of her. She could save more lives by living. She could give birth to more lives to replace the ones she failed to protect. She could prevent something like this from ever happening again.

But she could never take back the regret or shame she would live with by doing so. Nor could she ever smile again.

She gave those behind her a bright smile, one free of any worry or fear. That was a lie. She was very much afraid of what was to come. She had very little doubt she could stop it. But she had a way of living, to make those she protected smile back.

In their final moments, she would make sure they went away with ease and smiles. That was the least this failed adult could do. Even in death, she would go out as a shield, however flimsy it may be.

"It's okay, everything's going to be alright. I promise, I'll protect you. Alright?"

Such an honest and pure assurance was enough for those young students to smile back hopefully. Those adults who had failed as she did responded back with solemn smiles, understanding what was to come as they hugged those children close. Junko understood as well, shutting her eyes as she hugged Wannai and Awatsuki with a few tears slipping out.

A bright light shone down and blocked out all shadows in the face of that great hammer of elements ready to decimate everything in sight. Mila raised the almighty gathering of compressed powers higher, ignoring the streak of blood now spilling out of her mouth..

Was this hopeless situation her fault? Were these innocent lives about to perish on her? No, it was all the fault of Academy City and its system. These very events were to blame on those who created her. Yes, she was a monster, a demon, another creation of Academy City.

She shouldn't have felt an ache in her chest at those poor souls as she slammed the great ball of destruction onto them like a nail.

"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The uproarious shout came from out of nowhere. Through the empty streets that were left abandoned by the fleeing citizens, a single figure could be seen running with all their strength to make it in time of the falling mini sun of fused elements. Yomikawa and the rest couldn't make out the stranger, only the stretching shadow born by his body appearing in front of them all. She tried to get a look of the brain dead idiot who thought he could do anything but throw his own life to the already doomed, but could only make out a head of spikes before Mila's attack crushed them all in a detonating blast that would wipe away a good chunk of District 7.

Shattering glass could be heard instead of the sounds of destruction. An overbearing pressure was exerted below those beneath the hammer of energy like a force of gravity. The street below their feet quivered and cracked. A sweltering heat tanned their skins from the great blinding light of destruction that eagerly wished to smash into them.

Yet it could not. Not when it couldn't so much as break the right hand keeping it at bay.

Fighting the blinding light, Yomikawa finally recognized the head of spiky hair she had seen countless times back at A Certain High School. Her mouth fell open, lips quivering as she watched that spiky haired boy from Komoe's class stand in the way of the massive ball of elements with only his right hand.

"K-Kamijou!?"

Touma didn't have time to respond back in kind. He was far too busy holding up the crushing ability with only his right hand supported by his left. A series of shattering breaks could be heard continuously negating the attack, seeming to have enough power to keep up with the mysterious power of Imagine Breaker.

But all things that did not belong in this world would eventually be destroyed by that right hand of his.

It was as if it had never even been created. With one last otherworldly whine and sound of shattering glass, the Omni Ball was negated. Smoke lingered from his right palm as Touma flexed the creaking fingers with a wince. That was a first. To think there were things powerful enough to withstand Imagine Breaker's nullifying force. It almost felt like his hand would have broken at moment from the strain of such heavy and condensed power.

Waving his still aching hand around, Touma glanced at the girl responsible for the further destruction of a district. His stern eyes met Mila's pale white face. She was stunned to the core to see him.

"You're alive?" Mila whispered lowly.

That should not have been impossible! The last attack she had thrown at him below the Hoshi Reactor was the gathered and condensed collective of AIM of 2.3 billion Espers! Or at least close to that as she had just connected to the network. Either way, it should have snuffed him out along with the others.

Was this an illusion? Was the shirtless boy with spiky hair and the strange right hand nothing more than a figment of her imagination created by the back lash of commanding a city's worth of minds? It had to be, nothing else could explain some plain old high school boy standing in front of her despite facing a collective blast of countless AIM signatures.

Just to be sure, Mila summoned a spark on her left finger. She aimed it at the sweating, blood and dirt caked, injured boy who could only pant from running who knows how far. A zapping streak of azure electricity shot forward like a lance.

Despite how tired he was, how worn out his body had become, Touma none the less faced the palm of his right hand at the streaking lance of pure electricity born out of a supernatural phenomenon.

All those watching the back of that spiky haired boy who came out of nowhere to their rescue bore witness to another impossibility. The lightning lance struck his hand and disappeared with the sound of shattering glass and an otherworldly whine. It was as if it was never even there.

It was there again. That unknown sense of fear in Mila's heart. Only for some reason it was much more powerful and profound. Her body which had absorbed the collected AIM of the city's students was hit by a primal sense of anxiety and terror of that right hand. Against her better judgment, she found her feet taking a step back as Touma tightly balled his fist.

One might say it was a miracle that he had made it in time to save those cowering behind him from the out of control girl. Touma wasn't sure if he could admit to that, but for once, he had found a small grain of luck in the form of the mysterious girl, Hirunehime. Somehow, she had been able to keep track of where Mila had been going; she must have been an Esper, it was the only explanation to the accurate directions she begun to fire off over the hidden mic she kept in her windbreaker. As they made their way towards Mila, Hirunehime had suddenly alerted him to the sign of a great gathering of AIM that was being used for an attack against a group of students and Anti-Skill.

The way she had described what was about to happen had cemented the thought that Hirunehime was an Esper, one that seemed to be able to track AIM. He didn't question it at the time, focusing on kicking the Anti-Skill van's doors open as they nearly reached Mila.

Every muscle in his body had gone above its call of duty to carry that boy's already battered body to the sight of several students and officers in the bask of a deadly miniature sun of elements. All he needed to then was simple reach his right hand out to that city block decimating blast.

Right fist clenched, Touma threw it down to the side with a barking shout.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, MILA! THIS WISH, THIS DREAM, THIS DESIRE FOR REVENGE AGAINST THIS CITY; IT'S OVER! I'M PUTTING AN END TO THIS NONSENSE, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOOOOOOOWWWWWW!"

The death, the blood, the destruction, the fear, the hopelessness; it had to stop! No more, no more was he going to allow another second of this disillusioned girl's twisted wish to go on.

Countless students were in pain because of what had become of Mila. The Level Eater Network born of a ghoulish machine was going to be shutdown. And he was going to make that stupid girl realize just how wrong her desires were.

He didn't care about the innumerable wings of AIM that stretched from her back, of the odd magenta aura that she seemed to be made of, of the claws, red burning eyes, and distorted halo that spun above her head. He didn't see a demon born of energies of Espers.

Touma could only see Mila, a girl who's cries had been ignored for far too long.

"I'm going to stop you. And you can bet your ass that I'm going to save your from drowning any further in your despair. So, stand still and wait for me to drag you out of your own hell!"

Mila blinked. Did that idiot just say he was going to save her?

"PFFFTTTT, WHAT BULLSHIT!"

Mila laughed before swiping her left arm at the charging spiky haired boy. A great fanning wall of flames flew to turn him to cinders from her outstretched fingers. The Espers with Pyrokinesis calculated the strength, width, and range of the fires to make it so that not even drifting ember would remain.

Touma could already feel his body sweat as he leaped at the flames. With a thrust of his right hand though, not even the flames that would rival a Level 4 in the field of Pyrokinesis could fight back. Shattering the flames, he reached Mila's personal space, pulled his right arm back, and threw in his weight for the punch.

Mila grit her teeth at the approaching fist. Once again, that sense of fear struck at the sight of that right fist. Already she began to formulate a counter to that fist. He could negate her elemental attacks, so what about something completely different? After all, it wouldn't be possible that he could simply negate all her powers.

The countless minds she was linked to sorted through the many abilities she could now perform. She found one should allow her to protect her from that flying fist. To the unseen eye, the skin cells on her face began to harden to resemble scales, like a fleshy chain mail had formed over her features. The ability allowed her free control of the skin cells over her body. She could harden them, regenerate them, and even change the pigment.

So, that odd fist was about to smack into the face of what could be comparable to steel as thick as a tree trunk.

And yet, that fist plowed right through the sturdy human scales without so much as a struggle. Mila's eyes flew open wide as she felt the knuckles of the boy send her flying along with the gathered wings of AIM that allowed her to perform calculations on the scale of a god.

The Level Eater Network glitched, the contact with that hand somehow cutting her off from performing anymore abilities. Within several seconds, Mila found the AIM she had stolen and taken into her body had been erased completely. She found herself in her old clothing without the veil of AIM. It was like a bucket of arctic cold water had been dumped onto her.

And then the connection came back with snap.

The rush of countless minds speaking up all at once hit Mila's mind. Her hand flew to her mouth, stopping her from retching as a nauseating vertigo took her back. Her eyes nearly rolled back, blood seeped from left eye. Even as she felt her body regain the form she had taken and the wings once again spewed from her back, she still felt her body reeling from the whiplash of returning power nearly topple her.

"DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH ME AGAIN!"

That fear was well placed. Screeching at the top of her lungs in rage, Mila kicked off the street with the boost of an ability that increased the muscles in her legs. At the same time her demon like claws of AIM stretched and curved like crescent blades as she swung them for Touma's head for a cleaving slash. The claws grew an intense eye blinding white with the combination of a heat raising ability for an added cruelty.

Touma timed the charged and met those metal melting claws with straight punch. The contact with his Imagine Breaker reduced Mila's claws back to her dainty human hands. Mila's face twisted as she felt his fist not only drive her back but once again cut her connection to The Level Eater Network off. A left knuckle pushed her back and left a bruise on her lower jaw. Her entire flicked from her body of AIM to her Level 0 state like an interrupted radio signal.

Before another punch could be thrown her way, Mila teleported back to her original spot. Her face was twisted with rage and disbelief as she threw both her arms up. From all around her, the rubble of the day's chaos gathered above her and flew in the air like drifting wood on an ocean's bed.

Flames, ice, and electricity coated each newborn piece of street meteors. Mila grinned sadistically at the faces of fear from those still gathered behind that simple boy. So, straight forward attacks weren't working. And that right hand had the power to cancel out her abilities, something she still couldn't comprehend with even the absorbed AIM fields of nearly 2.3 billion students. But as before, she knew how to deal with that.

"Everyone, get back and head for safety!"

Yelling at the people behind him to move out of the way, Touma ran forward to lock those elemental meteors onto him. The others couldn't be dragged into his problems. If someone was to be hurt by that sadistic girl, it would be him!

" _ **Terrakinesis+Cryokinesis+Pyrokinesis+Electrokinesis!**_ "

Those meteors of fire, ice, and electricity zoned in on the charging spiky haired boy. Like a shotgun shell, the were fired in a scatter shot burst for wider range. Touma stopped as the elemental coated rocks were fired all around him with one of chilling rubble headed straight for him. He didn't have time to think of anything better to do than fire his own fist at the approaching meteor.

Like fireworks those balls of rubble created by a combination of elemental telekinesis went off in colorful detonations that swallowed the street in waves of flames, water currents, tendrils of electricity, and an uproar of earth.

Mila grinned as she had seen Touma's sihouette swallowed in the flash of the explosions. Even with that strange right hand, even he couldn't have blocked such a field consuming attack!

She couldn't help but wonder if even a scrap of that annoying Level 0 was left behind. She swept her arm at the wafting smoke of the explosions to clear it away with a gust of wind.

Her grin fell at what she found instead of a burnt red smear.

A battered knuckle obscured her vision the moment the cloud of smoke was cleared to send her flying off her feet.

"FFFFUUUUCCCKKK!"

Mila's body bounced along the street for several feet before regaining access to The Level Eater Network. Rising with the help of her AIM wings, she shot a furious glare at the should be dead high school boy before a burp of blood rose from her throat. And at the bitch standing beside him.

"Thank's. . .uhh. . ."

"Hokaze, you can call me Hokaze."

Next to Touma's side was the purple platinum haired ojou-sama. It took Mila a second to realize what had happened as she connected the dots.

Seeing the imminent danger, that girl, Hokaze, had leaped to the rescue with the help of her ability. Within the time span of the launched elemental rubble and the detonation, she had grabbed hold of Touma and pulled him out the line of fire in the blink of an eye. And as Mila had cleared the smoke, she had helped to send that boy flying at her like a javelin.

More and more annoyances, obstacles, stood in her way. Those who wished to stand in the way of her most cherished wish continued to deny her; just like those faceless figures who denied her any worth.

A pulsing headache split Mila's head, enough to cause a frustrated cry to leave her lips. Those voices of the students who's abilities she had devoured began to scream at her like hollering monkeys.

 _'Why can't I become anything more than a Level 0?'_

 _'Level 1? Is that all I can achieve after all these years?'_

 _'Just one more session! One more, and I'll finally gain an ability like the rest of them! I. . .I have to!'_

 _'As a Level 4, those lower than me should recognize just how great I am! They should bow before their greater!'_

 _'Losers, the lot of them. Anyone who can't so much as break the border of Level 0 are nothing but trash.'_

 _'Am I really fine with Level 3? Can't I do better?'_

 _'If I just continue to play along to that idiot's belief that I'm his friend, I can get all I need from him to improve my Level! What a dumbass!'_

 _'It's useless I'm. . .worthless.'_

Those poisonous thoughts drilled themselves into her head with a monstrous fever. She nearly doubled over as she lost hearing in her left ear and sight in both her eyes. A problem that was easily rectified with a stolen Espers regenerative ability.

 _'So far. . .that's almost 2 billion.'_

In truth, she didn't have complete control of all 2.3 billion AIM fields. She was steadily absorbing them with every minute. And it wouldn't be long until she had them all in the palm of her hands. Once she had them all, all that would remain would be a measly seven students.

The Level 5s. She knew without a doubt that once she consumed the AIM fields of those monstrous Espers, their would be nothing stopping her.

Until than, she couldn't fall to the strain of not even 2.3 billion.

Reacting to her emotions, the swarm of wings from her back wriggled madly and bent from the sky to stab down around Mila's position like spears to the earth. She smiled madly, the pain coursing through her body affecting her own mental condition as she began to giggle. The whites of her eyes grew a jaundice yellow along with several rings forming around her iris in colors of green and purple. The membrane of AIM stretched from her arms to being consuming the rest of her body in a similar form as the Level Eater machine.

Mila's platinum locks were now a deep, seeping magenta that wriggled behind her like tentacles. The broken halo shattered to pieces, its remnants forming onto her forehead like horns. She was becoming less angelic and completely demonic.

It was as if she was transforming into a humanoid AIM Burst. The grin on her no longer resembled a humans but that of an otherworldly beast.

"I WON'T LET ANYONE GET IN THE WAY OF MY DREAMS ANYMORE! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, PLEASE JUST DDDDDIIIIIIIEEEEE!"

A cry fueled of both rage and despair was let loose from Mila's lips as she accessed the ability to enhance the volume and strength of her voice to create a rippling shock wave powerful enough to break apart the road underneath her feet.

Touma shot his right hand out while enduring the sharp pain in his ears from the sound wave blasting their way. He was able to shatter the sound wave and protect Junko from the attack.

" ** _Mental Shutdown!_** "

Without warning, Imagine Breaker alerted to a negation Touma couldn't even see. An odd tickle in the back of his head told him what it could have been.

A mental attack. Too bad for her. Imagine Breaker held a passive ability to reject such abilities. Hearing it negated though told him how powerful it must have been.

Not even mental abilities worked? Mila's ever-growing rage was reaching an erupting point. The AIM wings stabbed into the ground wriggled, signaling an action. The streets trembled with quakes before lancing tendrils pierced up to rush forward at the spiky haired boy. At the same time, Mila teleported out of sight.

Touma kept his right hand forward, intercepting the trail of rushing AIM spikes. His senses blared, warning him of an incoming attack. His head swiveled, searching for the unknown attack from the girl capable of just about any Esper ability.

"BE CRUSHED!"

From thin air, Mila appeared a few spaces from Touma and Hokaze. She grinned maliciously, effortlessly levitating a small red car in her hand before throwing it forward.

The attack wasn't one of supernatural phenomenon. It was simply being manipulated by it. Could that boy's odd right hand block more than 4,000 pounds of steel as easily as a massive bomb of elements? Well they were about to find out!

" ** _Telekinesis+Velocity Manipulation+Impact Multiplier!_** "

A sparking platinum blur of emerald sparks shot past Touma's side before he could properly react to the deadly attack Imagine Breaker couldn't possibly guard. Junko's right fist took his place in meeting with that colliding force with an equal sonic boom. Empowered by her ability to increase her cells abilities to grant her arm's muscles superhuman strength, she crushed the hood of the car and sent it flying back like a crumbled cannon ball.

Mila clicked her tongue in annoyance as she teleported out of the way her own attack sent back at her. That little bitch! She wasn't involved in this and yet she was butting her head into their business?!

" ** _Sense Cutter+Emote Toggler: Anxiety Up!_** "

Utilizing her ability to teleport, Mila flickered out of sight and appeared beside Junko with a her arm raised for a chopping motion. It didn't matter that she jumped back from her falling chop, Mila had already cut off her five senses. Touch, Smell, Taste, Sight, and Hearing; they were all cut away from her like strands. To make sure that girl didn't get any ideas to fight back, she also increased her level of anxiety to hysterical heights. All that needed to be done was to finish her off.

Junko's face broke out into a mad sweat as she found herself unable to speak, see, hear, smell, or even taste. Her body trembled horribly as her heart speed up like rapid beats of a drum. A dreadful wave of despair struck her left her immobile to anything coming her way.

"Hokaze-san!"

The sound of something shattering snapped Junko out of her plunge into despair as her five senses were returned to her. The first thing to come back to her was her sense of touch, feeling the hand of a boy on her shoulder. Her sight was returned in time to witness that spiky haired boy snapped his right hand back and spread his fingers out in the face of sparks flickering in the air in front of them. She smelled propane in the air before the sound of multiple explosions followed the rupturing blasts Touma negated.

She wasn't sure how, but she saw the explosive flames swim past her and that strange spiky haired boy like water against a rooted boulder. Not even the heat touched her skin, only a cooling breeze as she could only stare at the naked, bruised and bloodied back of that boy.

"Hokaze-san, please, evacuate the area with the others. This is a fight I can't involve others in. So, please leave and don't look back!"

As the roar of explosive flames died down, Junko heard that boy's stern words and frowned. Run? And just leave him to fight against some monster by himself? To do such a thing would be nothing short of cowardly! She may have been what others would call an ojou, a ladylike Esper who acted with manners and grace befitting one of higher class, but that didn't mean she would turn her back to others in need.

 _'Protect him. . .At all costs, no matter what. . .'_

And than there was that voice, a voice belonging to someone precious and held closely to her heart. That pleading, begging, voice to the girl she looked up above all others.

 _'Please, protect that gentleman, Junko-chan.'_

Before all this chaos and destruction began this morning, Junko had a psychic link established with the Queen of Tokiwadai. They had actually been chatting about plans for later that day when Junko's lunch with a few other members of her click had been ruined by a wandering Service Bot. And through it all, she had maintained the connection to rely the situation back to her Queen and better act as her second in command. But that connection had been cut off at that spiky haired boy's touch. Just before it was destroyed though, she had heard what she guessed was her Queen's last words before their link was gone.

It wasn't a command by. It was a plea. One that Junko didn't understand, but would certainly oblige.

"I've already made sure that the others evacuated the area with the help of the female Anti-Skill officer. By now they should have made a safe distance from the fighting. All that's left is do deal with this rowdy girl who posses a threat to my friends."

Touma moved to argue, but found his attention taken by Mila and the scene of about twenty laser pointers summoned from thin air around her. A sense of foreboding struck as those simple laser pointers lit up with a bright white intensity.

" ** _Wave Conductor+Light Angler!_** "

Those light conducting pens fired a twinkling barrage of lasers that bent in their flight towards Touma and Junko. They were calculated to bend in various directions to better avoid the negating hand and skewer him with bloody holes along with the platinum haired girl.

Junko's eyes lite up with the increase of her sight as her entire body went through a superhuman change. Without warning, she grabbed a hold of Touma and carried him away from those chasing lasers intent on piercing them cleanly through. Various lasers struck, only to miss and hit the street as the rest feverishly chased after them like heat seeking missiles.

Touma was more than mortified despite the tense situation. Why? Well that would be because of the fact that the ringlet girl was carrying him like some fairy tale princess riding on the wind!

 _'Shouldn't this be the other way around!?'_

" ** _Mental Shutdown!_** "

Sensing Junko begin to trip as her Rampage Dress disappeared and her eyes dulled, Touma was quick to touch her face with his right hand to negate the mental attack. Those chasing lasers hadn't paused and took advantage of the momentary lapse in movement from the loss of Junko's speed.

No other way around it than. Falling back on his feet, Touma intercepted what lasers he could with a wide series of swipes to protect both himself and Junko. Most of the attacks were nullified, but he found himself with more injuries piled onto his body in the form of grazing burns and at least four small ballpoint holes.

"S-Shit!"

Blood didn't drip as the lasers cauterized the wounds. He didn't know if that was good or bad anymore.

" _ **Worm Gate+Move Point+Ignition!**_ "

The attacks just didn't stop coming.

Four swirling gates of dark colored energy formed on the ground in front of Mila as she teleported four vans above the worm gates to drop them in. Around Touma and Junko they found those gates forming around them and firing the vans at them like bullets. Small embers peppered the vehicles, warning the Level 0 and Level 4 of their explosive potential.

"Hokaze-san!"

"Hold on tight!"

Those two students had never met. Not even in passing. But somehow those two battle skilled Espers were able to work in tandem in the heat of the moment. Junko gripped Touma's left arm, careful not to touch the mysterious right arm that nullified her abilities, and carried him off his feet. Like a rocket, she sped through the bombardment that detonated in a roar of flames and smoke behind her. She set her sights on the demonic girl while evading the assault of ice chunks fired her way like a machine gun.

From her back, Mila commanded several of the cable like wings to lash out at the charging emerald spark clad girl. Like vipers, they snapped with ever intent to eviscerate her.

But that simple right hand reached out to the slithering wings and shattered them into oblivion.

Mila moved to teleport out of the way, the vast collection of Personal Realities adding her in calculating the correct method of teleportation to distance her and counterattack.

But than her vision was disoriented along with the rise of an ax splitting headache. Blood flew out her lips at the sight of three mirrored images of her attackers lunging straight at her with barreled knuckles.

The backlash of nearly two billion minds and rising reared its ugly head in the moment. The human container that was Mila was undeniably cracking under the stress.

A knuckle of negation and a knuckle of amped electrical signals rammed into Mila's face with a gruesome crunch. Without the protection and amplifying abilities of The Level Eater Network, she was once again reduced to a lowly Level 0.

And she loathed it.

Touma thickly swallowed the guilt born from watching Mila's body skip back on the battered road like a used rag doll. He had seen the effects of absorbing so many AIM Diffusion Fields. Though he had punched her a few times, her face was covered in red streams that bled profusely. It wasn't natural for one person to contain that much power.

That suffering girl who believed herself to be worthless to the world was killing herself.

"This. . . isn't worth dying over. It can't, IT SIMPLY CAN'T!" Touma yelled in pain from watching the once human girl struggle to get back up as her AIM membrane flickered and consume her.

Mila's eyes morphed once again, bleeding red with eyes of a sinister being born from the collection of AIM. Several clusters of what felt like mini bombs erupted in her head, causing her to hold her face as she felt even more Levels devoured over the network. Through the slits of her fingers, she glared at the high school boy who's face was pictured with remorse and grief.

"Just how little do you value your own life!? To throw it aside to achieve an empty wish that won't reward you with anything other than your own destruction! Do you truly believe that just because you've been deemed as a Level 0 that your own life equates to some fucking lousy digit!? Your life, whether its a life with power or without power, with or without money, with or without recognition, with or without reward, with or without talent, FUCKING MATTERS MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER MEASURE!"

The despaired cry of a Level 0 reverberated through out the streets. He was in pain but not of his own wounds for once. No, he was hurting deep within his core at watching some girl destroy herself for some empty wish of mirrored suffering.

Even more headaches erupted inside Mila's head, causing her eyes to roll back as saliva mixed with blood seeped from her groaning mouth. The voice of that ignorant Level 0 only amplified her pain tenfold.

"W-What the hell w-would you know?! You talk a-as if y-you're like m-me! Were you ever abandoned by those who loved you!? Were you ever replaced for a better version!? Were you're cries ignored!? Were you ever fed false hope!?"

An odd phenomenon began to occur to the world around them in response to Mila's despaired yells. It was as if the buildings, streets, cars, and sky was flickering to. . .another world. A world of shimmering lights began to overlap with their precognition of their world.

The stream of countless magenta wings began to bleed into that flickering City of Shimmers. Those wings that absorbed the thoughts of nearly 2.3 billion suffering Espers was an unwanted and alien element to that reality. Its very touch was toxic.

"STOP TRYING TO PLAY HERO! AS IF YOU COULD EVER UNDERSTAND MY PAIN! I'M WORTHLESS, TRASH, UNLOVED! EVEN WITH ALL THIS POWER, ALL THAT STILL STANDS! THE WORLD HAS SPOKEN AND SHOWN ME WHAT I'M WORTH IN ITS EYES. I'M JUST AN EYESORE THAT WOULDN'T EVEN BE MISSED! A WORLD THAT SEES ME WORTH NOTHING MORE THAN AN EMPTY VALUE DESERVES TO BE ERAAAAASSSSSSEEEEDDDD!"

Mila felt it. The powerful pulse from deep within her chest that spread through out her body as the final drop in the piling sea of power she had been devoured dropped.

2.3 billion. With the exception of those Level 5s, all 2.3 billion were successfully linked to The Level Eater and registered. She could see it all in her mind, a literal index of abilities of ever living Esper that resided within Academy City. It was like a click in her mind.

She had a wish; To annihilate those who had labeled her as worthless. That was all she had desired. But now, she found a new wish.

It was this world that she had been born in that was at fault. This twisted, cruel, ugly world that she continued to breath with a shuddering muffled cry. Its very sight disgusted her.

So, she would do away with it. To this worthless, loveless, despicable, hopeless world.

 _ **THUD!**_

"Hokaze-san!?"

Junko's eyes fluttered before her swaying body hit the floor. Touma had reached his hand out to catch her, but was stopped by what he could only describe as his brain exploding like a cluster of grenades. Out of instinct he reached for his head with his right hand; Imagine Breaker. And than he heard the all too familiar sound of shattering glass.

Unknown to him this reaction was occurring all over Academy City. Students who had been aimlessly going about their lives found themselves with the same head splitting headache before falling over wherever they stood. It was as if some switch had turned them from ON to OFF. All activity within the city came to a stop. An eerie silence draped over the city.

The only ones to remain conscious in that city of science were two Level 0s.

And than they were gone.

* * *

"Where. . .where am I?"

All Touma had done was blink. And the world had completely and utterly changed.

He was still in Academy City. There was no denying that. But at the same time it wasn't.

To describe the pseudo Academy City he now stood in would be. . .desolate.

It felt as if there was no form of existence at all. There were no shadows, no weight, no air currents. A lifeless mirage like realm beneath the surface of Academy City.

A City of Shimmers.

At least that was what would have greeted him.

Pith black greeted Touma in the form of the sky. The building were drained of color and resembled empty husks. The air tasted stagnant. And haunting red signals were released every once in a while from that empty city. These signals were wisps of crimson with ebbing black on the edges that would slowly drift along the world with no real direction. One of those crimson red and pitch black wisps grew close to Touma. He reached his hand, hesitantly, before poking it. The wisp dinged, shifting its body to form a strange triangular crystal that vanished from sight.

It was a City of Wisps.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? A world build and centered on the hope of one lonely girl."

The sound of a familiar voice brought Touma's attention to the very end of the road they had been fighting on. All the damage that been wrought was gone. Leaving the girl known as Mila Etoile to freely walk ahead.

The foreign french girl no longer resembled a demonic beast. She had returned to her old frilly blouse and blue and yellow checkered skirt. She had returned to being a normal girl.

But her light green eyes were colored red. A reddish purple halo spun above her head like a chakram blade. And from her back, vine like wings of pure darkness coated with seething red thorns lazily wriggled and nearly blended into the background of the dark city.

From a human, to a phantasmal beast, to a demon; Mila now resembled a dark divine being. A Fallen Angel.

She smiled sweetly like a poison apple at the shocked face from Touma.

The pain was gone. It was as if her body, the vessel of all those Personal Realities she had been devouring with The Level Eater Network, had been broken down and rebuilt. Her worthless Level 0 body that could not break through her limits had gone beyond her human limitations to reach a new plane of existence. And the world that she so despised had been broken down and rebuilt to suit her new being.

She had done it. She had departed from that world that deemed her with no value. In this new world she had created, she could find value. She could be something. She could be. . .loved.

This empty world would love her. It would exist for her. It would give her what she had always desired.

Worth.

Except it had one ugly speck staining that picture perfect world. A piece of trash that had found its way thrown into her utopia.

Mila stared at Touma with an empty gaze, eyeing him as if was some piece of litter she felt far too uncaring to pick up but knew she would have to throw out. Yes, that boy was all that stood in the way of her dream being realized. How he had shown up here, she had no idea. That didn't matter though.

The thorn wing like vines arced and aimed themselves for that spiky haired boy. Touma found himself taking a step back at the threatening action, gritting his teeth in frustration as he realized things weren't over.

The Abilities of all those Espers were no longer needed. The power she now wielded was beyond the realm of Levels.

"A Level 0 like yourself is not welcomed in my world. Just as that world rejected me as worthless and tossed me aside, you can fell the same sting as that poor little girl."

The final battle begun with a thundering machine gun burst of piercing thorn wings.

Touma had already moved to evade those thrusting wings on reflex. Those thorny machine gun like bursts grazed his left arm, shredding the skin like an iron wool brush. He grit his teeth, ignoring the new injury in favor of swinging his right fist at the next burst. Those corrupt, sinister yet angelic wings were shattered to pieces.

Mila's face contorted into a vile sneer of loathing.

"Even now, with all but the Level 5s AIM within my body, that mere right hand nullifies my attacks!?"

Thrusting her left palm up high, a vortex of sparking scarlet energy formed above her head at the width of ten feet. With a clawed motion of her fingers, she slammed it onto Touma's head like she would a basketball. The impact alone would crush him with its density. The detonation would completely obliterate him.

It didn't matter how powerful the ability or attack. When Imagine Breaker so much as grazed it, it would be destroyed. It was a lesson that newly minted Fallen Angel had yet to understand.

Touma ran forward with his right hand raised up. His fingers scratched the overhead sparking vortex as he closed the distance between Mila and himself, shattering the overkill attack without any trouble.

"What did you do, Mila-san!?" Touma asked angrily as he swung his fist at the platinum blonde girl.

Mila smirked, countering that fist that seemed to be able to nullify just about everything she threw at him. She was no longer that powerless girl from before. She was no longer dying to her power. She was in control.

She stomped her foot, letting lose a stone column from the newly born world to ram into Touma's stomach at a ninety degree angle. Touma's eyes bulged as he lost his breath and dry heaved as the earth column carried him away from Mila. He moved both his hands to try and escape, quickly finding Imagine Breaker capable of reducing the column to nothing. Hitting the streets with a wheeze, he had to move quickly to deal with the rapid series of rising columns focused on him. Punch after punch greeted each newly created stone column, shattering to his blows as he grew cautious to avoid the ones that threatened to fling him up or skewer him.

So, even the parts of this empty city were weak to Imagine Breaker? Did that mean everything he was seeing was just a creation of that girl?

At least that meant that the Academy City he was in wasn't real. Did that also mean he could destroy this fake city and return them back to their own?

Mila tsked but was not deterred in the slightest. She was testing out what she could do with her newfound power. The Level Eater Network was still in working order as she could still feel all those connected to the network performing all her calculations and devise her next form of attack. Academy City was still in tact then, how unfortunate.

"I can't honestly answer that. I myself don't know what to make of this new world, or how you of all people followed me here. I would guess that would have to do with that right hand of yours. Tell me, what is it? It seems like an ability, meaning that you can't possibly be a Level 0." Mila spat venomously.

Her thorny vine like wings fired again with the velocity and ferocity of a machine gun. Touma found himself dancing through the mad fire, switching from evading what he could and negating what wings came dangerously close. The attacks switched up in style from that of a machine gun burst to the lashing swipes of cracking whips, to bending stabs. He ducked under a far reaching vine, rolled out of the way of three lashes that scarred the streets like claws, and threw his right palm out against the volley of thrusts centered for his chest. He felt a sudden rumble from below his feet, warning him to jump far back from the piercing rush of wings that dug out like wriggling worms. He didn't want to allow Mila to command those wings to continue to attack and opted to chop them down with Imagine Breaker.

A beam of sparking red energy was fired at the size of a small city townhouse in the midst of the attacks. Touma didn't bat an eye as he thrust his clawed hand at the vaporizing beam, holding it in place as he waited for it to be completely nullified.

"I told you, I'm a Level 0. Just like you, the System Scan defines me as One With No Power. It's actually funny; compared to every single Esper in Academy City, I'm the lowest of the lowest." Touma smiled bitterly, "You could say that I don't emit any AIM at all. My scores come back as my Level, Zero. And it's all because of my right hand."

The one to blame for everything that went wrong in his life was undoubtedly Touma's Imagine Breaker. The Illusion Killer. Because of it, he was left to live the shadow of someone far greater and pretend to keep his memory alive without any smiles lost. It was this unique power that labeled him as worthless.

But that right there was an illusion. And he knew just what do with illusions.

The stunned face on Mila's face had caused a stop in her attacks. She had never heard of anyone who had undergone the Power Currently Program with a test score of Zero in their AIM assessment exams. Even Mila herself had a score despite how small it was.

It didn't make sense. If that boy was truly the lowest of the low in terms of Level 0, how could he possibly have some kind of ability? How could he even continue living with the fact that all his hard work meant nothing? That he could never become anything more than worthless in the eyes of that cold world?

Just how could he muster up a smile when he wasn't even worth more than someone as replaceable as her?!

"I don't know much about it, but this power that allows me to stand up to you is also what labels me as a Level 0. It's completely useless when facing with the norm, but when facing against those who run amok with strange abilities, it actually gains some worth. And it's with this right hand that I will break you out of this empty world you've created!"

"Break me out? Why the hell would you do that?" Mila giggled before stomping her foot down hard.

Touma reacted to the action by readying his fists to break apart whatever pillars Mila sent his way. But he was mistaken, falling for a feint as that Fallen Angel girl blinked away.

He was far too slow to react to the fist swung at the left of his face.

Something cracked as he found himself flung away and crashing into the side of a colorless truck. His vision swam, he couldn't utter a word other than a choking gasp, he felt a tooth had been chipped with the birth of an ugly bleeding bruise on his face.

Blood freely puddled below his feet as he stumbled off the side of the truck, confusing him greatly before he found the culprit. Or culprits.

Three spike coated vine like wings pierced his body the second he twitched. One below his chest, one at his left shoulder joint, and one dangerously close to his lungs. Each one not just pierced his body but everything past him. Buildings, cars, trees; the wings went on for miles upon miles across that empty world. He felt his body tremble as the pain hit him before grunting deeply as Mila ruthlessly yanked them out, the spikes aiding to tear flesh out and increase the bleeding. He nearly fell to the ground right than and there; his right hand tried the stop the bleeding close to his lungs as he weakly glared at the happily smirking Mila.

She spoke to him, her voice soft and nonchalant as she flicked the dripping blood off her wings.

"Why would I ever return to that world that deems me as nothing more than Zero? To a world that has no one who sees me worth anything more than trash cluttering the streets? Where I continue to live without a voice to be heard? To a world that has no one waiting for me or to love? Where I'm just replaced for failing to be anything deserving of love? Don't you see? This here, this world, is all that I could have ever wished for."

A world that was born because of her. That existed for her. That needed her. A world that saw value in her existence. It was a world that would miss her if she were to disappear.

In a way, she no longer longed for the deaths of those who had ruined her life. Why would she when she now had the world?

She gestured her arms and her spiked vine wings to the entirety of the soulless world.

"I no longer want revenge. I just want to live in peace in a world that actually values me. That's all I want now." she said serenely with a small smile.

Yes, that's all she wanted now.

. . .Than again.

That small smile twisted cruelly as she felt a spike in her power.

"But I suppose I can't make all those I've used have their deaths go for nothing! I can't just live in this world in peace knowing that those monsters who would nonchalantly destroy a little girl's life go unpunished. That world isn't worth keeping. So, I'll just reduce it to nothing!"

She currently had almost 2.3 billion AIM Diffusion Fields devoured and amplified. Enough to create this world. But to make that number complete, she was missing seven very special individuals.

The Level 5s. Those whose Levels could not be compared to any other. They possessed the power to decimate an entire army by themselves. And their powers and strengths varied by number.

It had taken her time, but she had finally found a connection between them all. It wasn't complete yet but she just needed a little time and than those monsters would be added into the sea of power to become a brilliant star. Than there would be nothing she couldn't do. Such as attacking that world from her own.

Her spreading wings lengthened, reminding Touma of a great tree that could be seen from every corner of the city to touch the heavens, its infinite branches bare of any life but those glinting red thorns, aiming their tips up at the pitch black sky with sparks that would call down earth ripping bolts. An innumerable barrage would strike that world wherever it laid. Following the connection of The Level Eater, she would send those world ending bolts to ravage everything in destruction born of justifiable vengeance.

By doing so, wouldn't that mean cutting off the link that allowed her this power? And this world?

She didn't care. If this world collapsed too, than she would die happy knowing she died in a world that valued her more than a world that continued to spin without any care for her own existence.

A trickle. That was how it had begun. Just a trickle from The Level Eater registering a single Level 5's Personal Reality was enough to visibly rock her body and cause a euphoria of pleasure to strike every nerve. She couldn't help the loopy ecstatic grin from spitting her face as she slowly begun to devour the power of One With Super Powers.

Finally, her wish would be granted.

"That world. . .isn't worthless. I-It's. . .It's not something so. . .weak, ugly, or cruel for you to kill."

Blood splattered heavily across Touma's body as a few of those sinister wing branches struck him like spears, running through his upper body with sick, wet squelches. Those sadistic wings pinned him back, fighting to keep that boy from acting anymore than he did.

It should have been enough to finish him off. The pain alone should have swallowed his senses and left him to wither there with agonized cries.

But somehow, that Level 0 that could be found anywhere on the streets of that world she wished to destroy, moved his bloody lips to speak deathly low.

"You're right, there are sides to that world that are better off destroyed. There is a darkness I couldn't possibly ever see or understand. It's not my job or right to understand that kind of evil. After all, I'm just some high school boy who only wishes to walk in the light opposite of that darkness. But. . .I knowingly can't ignore that side of my world either. That's why, no matter how deep, cold, or cruel the darkness is, I won't turn my back from the cries that reach my ear. I'll face that great despair and cruelty no matter what to try to pull that pleading voice along the same light a common idiot like myself can take for granted."

Something ruptured.

The euphoria Mila had been seeping in had been abruptly cut off with the suddenness of a guillotine's chop to her neck. She felt it, the wings she couldn't possibly count swell like water balloons being fed an oceans worth of energy. Not even the fallen wings born of AIM of nearly 2.3 billion Espers could absorb the Personal Reality of the lowest Level 5.

A single Level 5 had caused a large majority of her wings to burst violently and shower the hollow realm with radiant tears that gleamed like rainbows. Mila panicked at the sudden development before scrambling to stop anymore of the Level 5s connection with her network.

But she had underestimated the hunger of The Level Eater Network. It was an abyssal hunger that was borderline starving for the smallest of scrap on the ground. It's need to devour whatever AIM was connected to the network with a gleeful gluttony was the main reason the project had been shut down.

Mila hadn't realized it until this moment. She may have been the Administrator of The Level Eater and been given all the privileges of operating the functions and abilities of that network, but she was never truly the one in control.

The Level Eater was its own being. It was and had always been doing what it wanted to do with no trouble going about its wishes. And it only had one wish.

Devour.

Against her control and commands, the vessel for The Level Eater's desires devoured and tried to absorb the abilities of the seven Level 5s of Academy City. And each failed attempt to sink its teeth into those dishes caused something akin to the The Level Eater's teeth to crack. The backlash to the form of Mila's nigh infinite wings to explode as that human puppet's knees hit the ground.

Mila felt it, the insane and godly calculations those Level 5s regularly performed everyday with the floodgate of AIM that threatened to render her brain dead. Each Level was counted for and caused parts of her body to continuously break down like brittle ice and regenerate.

The Number 7.

The Number 7.

The Number 6.

The Number 6.

The Number 5.

The Number 5.

The Number 4.

The Number 4.

The Number 2.

The Number 2.

The Number 2.

 _'W-Wait! How can there be duplicates! N-No, NO! That's not it! Those signatures, those calculations, those abilities, they're nothing alike! That can only mean one thing!'_

Academy City only had 7 Level 5s. It was public knowledge to everyone in the city that worked to create as many high Level Espers as possible. The Level 5s were the brightest trophies they could possibly attain and loved to show them off.

But what Mila was devouring weren't 7.

There were 11.

Several more of Mila's beloved wings were destroyed. They didn't erupt, explode, or rupture like the rest. No, they were simply destroyed as if they were never even there.

The right hand of an Esper who's even comparable to a small dew to the sea of power she possessed shattered the harpoon like wings piercing his body, allowing him to take a fumbled step forward.

Touma was going to die. The amount of blood he was losing already made his skin grow pale and his heart to struggle to maintain its beats as it lost a majority of its fuel to run. He fumbled in his steps again taking one, than two, than three. Each step felt like twenty. He was completely worn out and could no longer continue fighting as he did.

His eyes spoke different. Though his body swayed, blood seeped from his wounds, and his own vision began to blur, he refused to drop. Even as death had found a small crack to slip through and finally curl its fingers at the soul of one who could not die a normal death and continually dodge its culling blade, that spiky haired boy kept his firm and stern gaze at that suffering girl.

"I told you, I would break you out of this empty world you created. I would tear you out from the clutches of your own darkness, and help you to bask in the same light as I've come to enjoy. You think your own life is so worthless as to toss it aside? You think that the world is the final judge to what you're worth? You believe that no one in this world would ever miss you if you were simply dead? Sorry to make you look like an idiot, but those are worthless illusions!"

Long ago, that foreign girl's tears had hit the floor. No one had paid them no mind. If she were to cry, no one would have paid her any attention. That old scene had been born once again in that empty world that was no different than the one she escaped to her ever fading sight.

"This morning, a kind, sweet, and caring girl with platinum blond hair, sea foam green eyes, and a fragile smile had met a lost Level 0. She gave him some first aid. She even caused that idiot's heart to thump at the sight of a pretty girl. At that moment those two common Level 0s met, a bond had been formed. One that the weak, pathetic, naive spiky haired boy had collected and defined."

That little girl, abandoned by those who said to love her more than the stars, sniffled and heard her cries grow quiet. She found herself all alone. That little french girl with No Power crouched down and hid her face in her arms, feeling the world grow dark and cold as strange, gleeful, sadistic, curious, hands reached out from the darkness to play with the girl worth the number forever stamped above her head. In that abyss of loneliness, she found a wisp of strength left to whimper one last wish before those hands dragged her away into a luxurious guinea pig cage.

 _'I. . .I just wish I had someone to. . .'_

"I've given that small bond value. Mila-san, you're worth more to me than the false affections of those bastards you call parents! The one's at fault for everything is not Academy City, the Power Curriculum Program, Espers, or those faceless figures; it's those idiots who thought they could put any number of value on their own daughter, and abandon her for expectations those dumb asses could never possibly attain for themselves! So, what if they don't think you're worth anything!? So, what if Academy City thinks of you as nothing more than a Level 0!? Because to me-!"

A hand.

An illusion. Through that figment of Mila's shattering mind, she found a small hand held out to her. She blinked past her tears in confusion, staring at the small, weak, hand reaching out to her as if it was normal. Those cruel shadowed hands shrieked back at the sight of that normal hand as if it was acid, remaining to stand at the girl's back with wavering, cautious fingers. The little french girl tilted her head up head up and saw him.

A little boy. His hair was spiky, gelled because he thought he looked cool like those popular boys in magazines. She couldn't make out his blurry features, but felt a longing warm from the hazy smile on his face. He was a normal little boy her age. And he had heard her unheard cries and done what no others, no adult, had ever done.

He gave out his hand and answered those cries with a bright smile.

The pain devouring Mila grew a hundred fold. It brought her to the edge of madness, breaking her mind. Despite her own loss of control and her body beginning to break under the pressure of The Level Eater's black hole of an appetite, she found her left hand slowly, trembling like a shuddering leaf, reach out in front of her.

She was escaping into that blissful illusion she believed to be born of the countless Personal Realities she had taken within herself. In that wonderful, bright, and embracing illusion, Mila grasped desperately for that spiky little boy's welcoming hand that seemed to always be out of her grasp.

"YOU'RE WORTH MORE THAN ALL THOSE PIECES OF GARBAGE PUT TOGETHER!"

A bright green beam cut through the air.

From the tips of those fallen angelic wings that continued to rupture and regenerate in its attempts to munch on to the Personal Realities of those Level 5s, they reproduced what little calculations they had scrapped their teeth at to replicate some of those Level 5s abilities. What bits it could ingest were fired to put an end to the human who was getting in the way of its feast.

That spiky haired boy didn't know it, but an attempted copy of the #4 Level 5's Meltdowner was aimed for his head. Not even an atom would be left.

The green beam of particles fired at high speed that would normally incinerate anything that it met, vanished as it was faced with Imagine Breaker. Like what it intended to do, nothing remained.

Forget the pain, screw his own body's demand to quit, and fuck the old doubts of his desires only being the embers of someone else.

This weak and brittle bond in front of him belonged to HIM! Like all the others bonds Touma was left with. And he would treasure than more than the world itself!

Touma kicked off the street with his right fist thrown out to destroy the false realities that began to rain down upon him.

A telekinetic force was thrown straight at him like an amazing punch using calculations that made no sense. That unexplained tearing explosion carved the empty city's streets like a bulldozer's steel blade. The cannonball of pure force was shattered with a punch of equal amazing capabilities.

The moisture in the air was flash frozen by a mental command of all things. But the frost could only make that boy breath a puff of cold air as he back handed the spear like mental command following behind.

He wasn't sure what he had negated next, it was an odd power Touma couldn't make heads or tails of. Whatever it was fell apart none the less.

A great bombardment of electric spears were fired to char his body. An old instinct had lead Touma to move his right hand out and attract those spears like a lightning rod, negating them while batting away the new volley amid dodges born of forgotten reflexes. He seemed overly familiar with that tactic.

The next attack involved those sinister wings spreading out from Mila's left in a wide swinging motion. From the vine like branches, alien like feathers of pure white sprouted to form a wingblade made of material that shouldn't exist in this or the other world. It swung in a wide angelic slash that would slice the entire city cleanly in half. It shouldn't have been a surprise that even those unexplained wingblades were destroyed by a backhand.

The final assault came in the form of those vine like wings covered in seething red thorns simply accelerating forward like drills. Even as they spun, they revolved around another to increase the vectors of velocity to utterly reduce that boy into watery mesh red pulp. The gigantic corkscrew of buzzing spinning directional force would surely do what all others could not.

It was after all regarded as the Strongest.

"IT'S TIME FOR YOU STOP LIVING IN SOME CHEAP ILLUSION!"

Weakest met Strongest.

The sound of shattering glass was resounding.

Those wings withered away like dead plants. All those psychic abilities that could be regarded as another form of miracles were all nullified. None had stood a chance.

There was only one last action it could take. An attack that had proved to be just enough to pose resistance.

Touma had to break as a familiar brilliant light was released from Mila's body. Those wings fell around the broken minded girl and gathered the full bank of Personal Realities it had thus far ingested. The attack had been enough to create a massive gaping hole that extended up from the depths of the Hoshi Reactor at a ninety degree angle and crippled that mysterious right hand when it had just gotten its first taste.

If one were to give that attack a name it would be; All Reality.

It was a continuous beam of overwhelming AIM Dispersion Fields that could not be defined by Level. Even without the complete meals known as Level 5s in its belly, The Level Eater's attack could be considered above them in pure power ranking rather than application ranking. Despite being a culmination of nearly 2.3 billion AIM Dispersion Fields it had no scientific ability that required accurate and complex calculations.

It was simply overwhelming. A mixture so twisted it could not form its own personality or define its own traits. One could say it was those colliding mixture of abilities that gave it its killing power. For whatever was hit by it would be consumed by All Reality and lost to oblivion.

It could not be blocked. It could not be evaded.

Touma knew that dealing with that over kill special attack normally would only end with him either losing his arm, or dead. Neither option sounded great right now. So, he was going to have to get creative. He watched as those wings finished charging, blinding him as a world obscuring continuous beam of All Reality barreled forward like a rushing stream of high pressured rainbow tinted water.

The imagery gave Touma an idea. One he had no other choice to test out as he acted blindly at the devouring mixture of nearly 2.3 billions Espers.

The right hand, Imagine Breaker, stabbed forward in a knife hand motion. His fingers were flat like the fine blade of a chef knife, his nails acting as the tip as All Reality greedily moved to swallow him within the great chasm of powers.

But like a large rock in the middle of a riverbed's stream, Imagine Breaker stood its ground and parted All Reality in half as it continued to be fired. Shards of oddly colored energy sprayed past Touma as he bore witness to an immense wall of rushing realities breaking apart with the sound of rushing glass.

If there were anyone else in that empty world to bear witness to the spectacle, they would say the firing realities were split like a V right before that right hand and evaporated every building.

Blood spurted from Touma right hand as his nails were cracked. Even thought Imagine Breaker was now able to stand against that attack, it didn't change the fact that his right hand was human. It was a fragile thing. If this continued for any longer, he wasn't sure he'd like the outcome. In only moments of meeting that attack with Imagine Breaker, he could feel the bones in his right arm shudder and crack.

All Reality though was fueled by the The Level Eater Network. As long as it remained untouched and unharmed, it would fire away endlessly. It was infinite.

That infinite supply of AIM grew unstable.

Like light waves it began to lose its straight firing form and waver. All Reality was losing its power.

Neither Touma or Mila knew of that. No one inside that City of Wisps knew of the events that were playing behind the scenes of the main event. After all, they only knew of those Espers who were part of the Level Eater Network losing consciousness. Students and Teachers alike fell.

Except for those special individuals who proved to be tougher to chew for The Level Eater's teeth.

* * *

"What the fuck is that?"

The Number 4, Level 5 Meldowner, Mugino Shizuri aimed her hand an odd mechanical tower of polished sheen blue steel. It was like a landmark that stood at twenty feet, reminding her of an antenna tower that produced radio waves. What exactly it was or what it did, didn't matter a damn to her. All she knew for sure was that it was an annoyance. She flicked her long tea colored hair back, eyeing the crude obelisk with a bored indifference.

The high school girl who could be mistaken for either a third year or forth year, wearing a violet dress, shorts, black thigh high socks and white boots, glanced back at the only awake member of ITEM. The model figured Ojou-sama woman still wasn't sure about including that person into her team. After all they were a rather recent edition. One she wasn't keen on trusting with his level of power. Especially after he had proved to show the same level of resilience as a Level 5 like herself.

"Let's just say it's connected to the mission that Board Member handed down to deal with those Skill-Out fucks. It's also the reason why Kinuhata-chan, Frenda-chan, and Takitsubo-chan are taking a nap. I don't see why we should even ask questions."

The new member of ITEM grinned savagely, a grin anyone in ITEM would have thought to themselves reminded them far too much of their leader, while aiming his right hand at the obelisk with his finger gestured like that of a gun. A single bullet shell was aligned his finger.

An orb of high speed electrons floated in front of Mugino's hand.

A scorching bullet of what appeared to be flames formed along the newbie's finger like a loaded shell.

"The sooner this shit's down, the quicker we can wrap this crappy mission up and go for some Sushi. I hear they just opened a new diner that sell's some top quality salmon bentos."

Mugino didn't trust the boy, he was beneath her like all the others before her Meldowner. He had no right to talk to her as one would an equal. But at least he had some good tastes. She would admit that.

"Tch, you're paying, brat."

"Eh, pretty sure we're the same age, Mugino-san."

"Shut the fuck up, Kaen."

A high speed beam of electrons and an erupting shell of combustible flames left that obelisk to scrap.

* * *

" ** _AMAZING PUNCH!_** "

" ** _MAJESTIC KNUCKLE!_** "

Outside the playground of an elementary school yard, a towering obelisk of steel surrounded by the knocked out forms of Skill-Out was crushed between a supposed telekinetic force and a dazzling explosion from both sides. It wasn't even scrap, it was a flat sheet of metal that stood up like a smoking slab before falling over with an earth shaking thud.

Two boys suddenly met in the middle of the school yard as the odd obelisk those Skill-Out punks had set up was no more. Each of those boys was responsible for taking out a good half of that large force of no good trouble makers causing trouble to a place where children should have been happily playing, not cowering in fear.

On the left stood an obviously Asian boy with spiky hair swept back with a white head band over his forehead. He wore a white open jacket over his shoulders like a flowing cape, proudly displaying the shirt with the rising red sun of Japan and white pants. He carried with him what one might call a Gutsy aura about him.

On the right stood a boy of french origins with blond hair neatly combed and braided in a short tail that touched his neck. He wore fancy red long sleeved jacket with golden buttons resembling shields, a blue tie was decorated with crowns, and dark blue dress pants and brown loafers. His white skin added in telling others he was not of this country along with his dark blue eyes. He carried himself with an air of nobility, a charming aura if you asked him.

The Number 7, Level 5 Attack Crash, Sogiita Gunha eyed the french who had gallantly arrived to the scene to aid in punching out the delinquent's with a challenging grin.

"I don't know who you are, but anyone who can fight like you has some serious guts! I would love to pit my own super amazing guts against a guy like you, uhh?" Sogiita mumbled dumbly, earning a chuckle from the french boy.

The blond swept his hair back, emitting a brilliant sparkle over his face that must have been due to his ability as he grinned charmingly.

"You my dear comrade, may address me as Charmante, The Prince of Heroes! And I would love to accept a challenge from such a gallant knight as yourself! A great man such as myself is always scouting for new squires after all! AHAHAHAHA!"

Sogiita, admittedly one of the weirdest and over passionate of the Level 5s, blinked at the smug laughing french boy. One thought came to mind as he watched the blond pose heroically like some fairy book prince.

 _'Is he sparkling? Is that. . .gutsy?'_

* * *

An obelisk set atop of a high class hotel toppled over as its bottom found itself missing.

Well missing would be an incorrect way to put it. It was more like it was shaved completely off. One would think that it was cleanly cut off by a blade.

The real truth was more scientific.

The bottom five feet were actually teleported off by an Esper.

A girl of sixteen wearing her school's dark blue jacket around her waist and a sleeveless grape red string strapped shirt sat at the edge of that high social hotel roof. Her skirt reached her knee caps and her sneakers were lazily kicking the air. Her red hair was styled like a Princess's cut with a few braids at the right of her face.

Her dark blue eyes watched the obelisk fall to the streets, its shadow looming over the passed out bodies of students who had found themselves affected by the radio waves the false idol produced. She was quick to swipe her right hand, which held a pocket knife, at the obelisk. Her knife's shadow cut the falling tower with precision, hacking the steel with her teleportation ability until nothing remained.

She sighed in exasperation, finding what she was doing boring before her stern dark blue eyes wandered over to another rooftop where she spied another nuisance in the form of an obelisk.

"Why do I have to deal with this crap? I was in the middle of planning on how to better kidnap Tou-san before the other bitches got to him first! I didn't cross fucking time itself to lose the war of affection for Tou-san's love to the other fake Daddy's girls or likes of Kaa-san this early in the game!"

A creepy grin that would send shivers down a certain high school boy's spine appeared on that red haired teleporter's face before she teleported to the next obelisk with the snap of a finger.

Several slashes scratched the next obelisk. From those slashes, the chunks of the past obelisk popped out to into the world to destroy its brother from within and corrupt the radio signals.

* * *

She looked like a sullen angel.

Ashen white hair that matched her white complexion. Her body was light and lithe, showing little muscles yet showed she was flexible and more than capable of running a long distance. In short, she had the body of a cross country runner.

She wore a simple white sailor school uniform with the typical cliché blue skirt, red tie, long black stockings and shoes. Her silky white hair fell back to her waist with two long bangs going over her shoulders to her modest breasts. If it weren't for her complexion, she would have looked like an athletic girl who went to any old high school.

Than there were her eyes. Red orbs without any pupils stared at the lone obelisk with melancholy as it sent out a series of radio waves to whatever had caused the sudden drop in brain activity in all the Espers wandering the streets. She stood in the wide air plane field of District 23 that was currently devoid of any personal or planes.

And all around her laid the horribly beaten, mangled bodies of Skill-Out. They were alive, but no one would say they would live well for all the chaos they caused. Not unless a certain frog faced doctor patched them up.

The ashen white haired angel hummed boredly before shutting her eyes. She relaxed, feeling the cool breeze that was flowing all around. She could feel the very direction of the worlds currents.

She swiped her arm at the obelisk that laid what she could guess was ¼ a mile away. An intense current of wind followed her arm, whistling like a bell chime as an unseen force cut the obelisk diagonally and rendered it useless.

"This was just a waste of my time. I could have encountered Tou-san or Oji-san by now. Guess I'll just have to go back to Amata-san, maybe he's awake now."

With nothing else to do, the ashen angel walked away with a lazy whistling tune on her lips.

* * *

In a certain below ground mall frequented regularly by the students of Academy City, numerous unconscious bodies were strewn about on the floor with their shopping bags or treats laying next to them. But among the normal regulars were another knocked out bunch.

Members of a Skill-Out gang known as Devil's Mouth were among those affected by The Level Eater's signals. Unlike a few of their fellow gang members though, there laid Skill-Out that had found themselves with various odd wounds that had rendered them unconscious. One thug had blood trailing from his forehead as he laid face down, as if he had slipped. Another had their right arm burnt with shrapnel pieces belonging to their gun, which appeared to have blown up. A few even appeared to have struck the person next to them by accident.

In the silent underground mall, someone could be heard humming pleasantly to a tune that had not yet been born to this world. That person was a girl who wore simple white collared shirt over an orange shirt that threatened to pop against her busty chest, a simple blue skirt, and red checkered sneakers. Her ink green long hair went past her waist, close to her thighs, and appeared wet despite being dry. And the strangest part of all was her eyes.

They were a violet purple that gazed at all the silent bodies with a cheer demeanor.

"I'm guessing that would be the cause for everyone taking a nap?"

The ink green haired giggled pleasantly as she stopped in front of a large water fountain. Her eyes stared up at the out of place metal spire that those Skill-Out thugs had somehow managed to set up. They mostly likely had done it while everyone was in panic over the robots that had gone berserk.

Delicately, she stepped into the fountain, smiling at the cooling water around her ankles before walking over to the occult obelisk. She carefully eyed the strange symbols, seeming to understand their meaning despite being on the side of Science.

Supposedly.

"Boo! Because of all these hooligans, I was deterred from meeting with Touma-sensie! Ahhhh~! I was so close from being under his loving gaze again! I could practically feel his ever cursed aura somewhere close by!"

The depressed ink green haired girl sighed longingly as she tapped a single finger onto the steel structure responsible for her own misfortune.

"How unfortunate."

What were the odds of that steel obelisk completely collapsing because of one loose bolt?

One hundred in this case.

The magical structure came apart into a heap of metal as it just came apart at the touch of that odd girl. Water splashed onto her, soaking her buttoned shirt to show off her lovely busty chest to the world and even reveal the dark hint of her bra. She couldn't help but pout at the lost cause without a certain someone there to see her.

* * *

The silence of Academy City hadn't lasted too long. Within the span of five minutes, an uproar of violence had sprung forth to rectify that sudden lull of activity and life.

Those who lived in the present with powers that put them above others had moved for their own purposes to target the strange obelisks that ruined their peace.

And those who lived in the future with powers that had yet to be properly measured moved to target the objects that were in the way to happy days to come.

Level 5s and. . .other unique individuals of another side of the world worked separate and together to cut off the conveyor belt that fed a great and starving appetite of a beast.

The feast was over.

* * *

 _ **CRACK!**_

All Reality emitted the sound of the strongest and most durable glass straining under the pressure of an even greater power.

Like glittering shards, the barreling stream of crushing realities began to come apart against the knife hand it was only seconds from destroying. Without the endless supply of AIM from the world of science it could not continue on any longer. It lost its strength.

A clench of the fist was all that was needed to finish it off.

The disruption of those who had proved too tough for Level Eater's stomach had weakened its mixture of impurities enough to allow the final nail to be struck. All Reality shattered before Touma's clenched fist, leaving only the scar of its crushing attack in its wake as he finally got a clear view of its hosts among the glittering shards that fell over them.

Mila, a girl consumed by her own low self esteem and loneliness, abandoned by a world that said to have loved her and promise her power, sat on her knees as a great and terrifying malestorm of vile, corrupt, toxic energy colored a dark magenta bellowed from her unresponsive body. Her eyes starred at nothing, lost in some illusion she had created as her mind had broken under the stress of tasting a lick of those known as Level 5. Her body was filthy with blood due to her being being constantly broken down and repaired.

And somehow, tears freely trickled from her eyes without being tainted by the red or dirt on her face.

The Level Eater Network had lost its endless conveyor belt supply of free meals. All it had left were what it had ingested as its own. It could no longer regenerate what powers it lost to the right hand. Whatever was destroyed by that boy would no longer return. If this was a video game, than it had lost all its Healing Items, it could no longer recover its HP or SP, and was left with only a dwindling blaring red bar of HP.

The malestorm of devoured AIM twitched at the sound of footsteps drawing near as the empty world began to flicker between the desire born from its vessel and the world that had labeled her as nothing.

It reacted to the presence of that simple spiky haired boy with a vicious roar as it began to take shape in its final desperate attempt to fight.

The dark magenta AIM transformed into a great and towering maw of teeth with infinite teeth and a lulling tongue that flew out hungrily. It had the face of a starving and greedy behemoth with crimson red eyes. Its head appeared to be made of a muscle tissue with streams of pitch black flowing from its head. The behemoth's face resembled that of a great canine beast as it bore down at the annoyance that had gotten in the way of its meals.

It's great jaws snapped wide open and fell down to scoop that boy whole to satisfy its own gluttony.

"Please, I've faced an even greater appetite from a certain nun that puts your hunger to shame. Your hunger can't hope to compare to the appetites I've satisfied with a Level 0s worthless salary. So, SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH AND SPIT THAT GIRL OUT OF YOUR FAT HOLE!"

It had only taken a slap of the wrist.

The entirety of that City of Wisps and the AIM Burst known as Level Eater were cracked by the slapping right hand. A touch of Imagine Breaker rendered whatever was born of supernatural phenomenon useless and returned things to their proper state.

It was yet to be known to that boy, but he held the Reference Point of the world in his right hand. It was a power that restored harmony to that which had been corrupted form its natural form. All twisted creations would undoubtedly be restored to that which brought them harmony.

Level Eater and the City of Wisps shattered apart in cracks that spread across the realm. The world of Academy City appeared behind the cracks and broken illusion as Touma felt his legs give out under him.

He was done. No question or doubt about it. Throwing his right hand out against that abomination had taken all his remaining and dwindling strength. Touma was exhausted, bloody and dirty, and he was more than positive several bones were either broken or fractured. He was even worse off than when he had fought Aureolus Izzard. No one would blame him or insult him for his knees buckling before hitting the flickering and illusion cracked streets.

His eyes shuttered, threatening to stop fighting the need to rest and recover all the stamina he had spent over his limits. The human body was never meant to move around with that many wounds or that amount of missing blood. It would be wise to just shut his eyes and be rewarded with a nice nap.

But Kamijou Touma wasn't finished yet. There was still something he had to do.

Touma mustered a smile in the face of that broken minded girl's face that stared at nothing. As the world she had created gave off one last sound of cracking glass before returning them back to Academy City.

* * *

"Do you need help getting up, Mila-san?"

It was strangely as if the rampage that scarred the city block had never taken place.

Those two Level 0s found themselves back on the streets of District 7 on the same road they had once been fighting on. Except their were no flames, no craters, no remains of elemental supernatural powers, or damage in general that Mila herself had created while she was connected with the Level Eater Network. It was as if she had never been there the entire time. The only signs of destruction to be seen were from the hijacked robots that had distracted Anti-Skill and Judgment earlier.

Warmth.

A hand had touched Mila's cheek, its very touch restoring the shattered remains of her mind and banishing those ill meaning hands. It was not the touch of that right hand, Imagine Breaker, that had met her but Touma's left hand. He was having some difficulty moving it at the moment, so he opted to for his left to snap Mila out of her own despair. Hopefully it work the same no matter which hand it was.

The little boy in Mila's illusion withered away, dragging her back to the world she had abandoned in return. It was as if that kind boy had grown up right in front of her eyes to become that spiky haired boy she had stumbled upon hours ago. That high school boy who didn't belong in the territory of delinquents and violent Level 0s like herself had walked through hell she had brought around him and people he treasured.

And like a dragon, he had protected his treasures and defeated whatever had threatened to take them away from him.

Those threatening claws that had ruined her plans, beaten her flesh, and shattered her happiness, were reached out to her with nothing short of tender, kind warmth.

It was a sensation she had longed for since she was a child who had been born to a cold world of ever high expectations. It was a hand that she had desired for with all her heart from those who said had loved her.

It was a wish a young eight year old who was abandoned by the world was now being realized in front of her eyes after too many years of loneliness.

What was it that she wanted again? Was it the love of those despicable parents who saw her more as an object than a daughter? Was it the recognition from those who only ever saw her as some test monkey? Was it the power similar to those who saw all others below them as trash?

Or was it this?

A caring and nonjudgmental hand that would reach out and hold her own hand no matter what the world says of her or what she was worth?

Had she. . .been searching for that in the wrong direction this entire time?

No, that wasn't it. She had never been searching for that. She had been too obsessed with her own desire to be loved and valued by those who weren't worth the blood and tears she had paid for no reward. She had believed that no one would come to her rescue from her own pit of despair. That no one would think she was worthy of being called. . .a friend.

Something inside had been. . .restored. Purified. That ebbing darkness born of her own despair and Level had been washed away. A light had been born onto a new day.

The afternoon sun stood above the skies and shined down onto the back of that common boy's body. A radiant smile was aimed her way despite how blood stained it was, at the way of a Level 0 who could never hope to develop as anything more than Zero. At a Child Error. At a girl who would kill others for own selfish and self destructive desires.

Despite everything Mila had put Touma through and being the reason he was battered, he waited for her to take his hand so that he could help her up on her feet.

Was what he was doing what one would call normal? Mila wasn't sure of what to call what he did, but found herself slowly, hesitantly reaching her right hand out as Touma struggled to stand back up on his tired legs.

"K-Kamijou-san?"

Mila bit the bottom up her quivering lip at that boy's gentle smile. Tears sprung up and cleaned the dried blood on her face as they fell.

After everything that had happened today, all the lives that were lost, all the distrust, the lies, she was solely responsible for; did she deserve to take that hand that would drag her into the light? Would it be right to just ignore everything, and take that happiness for her own? Wouldn't one call that Evil?

Neither Level 0 had the answer to such a complicated question. They were in the crossing section of good and evil. Right and wrong. They had no idea to the future that would open up to the two of them for going against what others would call justice. It was strange and terrifying territory.

But at the end of that bumpy and messy road, without a doubt, they would find each others hands clasped within the others.

"I told you that I would break you out of there, didn't I? As if I would leave someone so precious in the darkness."

Caution and anxiety were thrown to the wind. Two right hands reached out to the other, more than ready to face whatever the future had in store for them.

"Kamij-. . .Touma-kun."

Those hands that had beaten each other touched and gripped onto another with pure smiles in the wake of violence.

* * *

 _ **CRACK!**_

A dull sound of shattering glass rang out as Academy City and its people rose up with bleary visions and confusion.

And a lone cry of despair, of agony, of pure tragedy and heartbreak echoed in that city. Once more, the cries of a Level 0 were ignored in that cold world of science.

* * *

"I'm deeply sorry, Tou-san. But. . .certain actions must be done to ensure your good deeds power aren't misused."

No one would ever notice the boy speaking to himself from the roof of a convenience store a few blocks away from the scene of a fight between a Level 0 and a Level 0 who crossed into the edges of SYSTEM. Anyone who's eyes would take notice of him would find that they had no memory of the blond boy. All thanks to his control over the minds of whoever fell to his ability.

He was what you could call a pretty boy, the kind you would find at some host club who entertained the ladies. He wore a red pricey velvet school uniform jacket with silver stars on the cuffs, white pants, and black shoes with yellow lace. His honey blond medium hair was combed back with a few spikes falling over his forehead to tickle the brow of his dark blue eyes. And like a certain high leveled Mental Out, he had stars in his eyes that were silver instead of gold.

A bitter sigh escaped his lips as he stood up and cleaned off his stylish white pants. He had been hasty to get to the scene in time, making sure to avoid detection by either two of his brothers. And though he had a hand in this great tragedy, he had made sure to fix the damage and stop the threats. A mentalist like himself was always up to his own schemes after all.

A widescreen remote was held in the blond's hand that began to lower now that it's target had disappeared.

"I'm sure Arden-nii-san isn't going to be happy to find his plans thwarted. And he'll no doubt no longer have any trust in me either. But that's fine. I don't expect forgiveness from either one."

He smiled with melancholy before turning his back to the tragic scene of a heavily wounded spiky haired boy crying onto the streets, alone.

"Tou-san, please, grit your teeth. Above all others, I know you're will power is far greater than even this tragedy."

* * *

 _ **That hand is known as The Illusion Killer for a reason. Good intentions or not, it will undoubtedly shatter even the kindest or most innoccent of creations of the supernatural.**_

 _ **Failure. A poor subsititue for even an average Level 0. You face a pit of despair born of your own need to save, only to kill.**_

 _ **This is only just another step of a long journey ahead. Don't trip now.**_

 _ **It's still far too early for you to break again.**_

 **And that's that! After so long, the finale is here and over with. What had started out as going out for a simple breakfast because of a small stroke of misfortune had lead into stumbling into a gang war, fighting old demons, meeting new friends, uncovering a hidden plot involving a lonely Level 0's revenge, and a battle against a being born of science. All because Touma had seen Angela's panties. Funny how things start, huh?**

 **Now, I'm sure everyone's got a lot to say about this chapter. I mean, did ya see that ending? Plus all those new figures dropped in? I suggest reviewing, let me know how the ending turned out, guess who's child is who, and wait for the closing chapter.**

 **That's right! We still got one more chapter to complete this arc. The Epilogue to Zeroes War/The Level Eater arc will be released this weekend! It's already finished, just working on some edits before I upload. I'll also be answering any questions anyone has about the arc before we go on break. I'll be leaving this story for a month or two until I've reloaded my story clip with at least 3 more completed chapters. In the meantime I'll be releasing a bonus chapter to make sure you all know this story hasn't be abandoned; An SS for all to enjoy. This break will also allow me to get back to uploading my RWBY stories too, so it's needed. Along with completed that special project I've discussed with one of my buds.**

 **Let me know how this arc went! Read and Review, it's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows fading in and out.**


	10. Epilogue: A Bittersweet Ending

**NeoShadows here at last! And here to deliver the long awaited Epilogue of the very first original Arc for A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps.**

 **Apologies for not uploading during the weekend as I promised. Found myself busy with work and too tired to complete the finals edits, responses. Not today though! It's time to close this chapter for good! After all, we still have much more to go.**

 **Stick around at the end though for a little section I call; Author's Writing Corner! It's a little section detailing facts and other interesting bits about the current arc to those who are interested. And who knows? You might just catching something after all that too.**

 **Reviews come first though, so let's wrap this up!**

 **Guest #1: New Children? Ain't that an interesting question? Wouldn't that mean the future can be changed, but not completely veered from its tragic ending? As for other children not belonging to Touma; the answer is yes.**

 **DNWorks: The final battle was a favorite of mine, for sure. I was actually nervous since it ended coming out as such a big chapter. I know some people ain't exactly fans of wordy chapters. I think I'm overfeeding people with my content at times. For your questions, I think most of them will be answered in this chapter. And yeah, I noticed my mistakes with both the Billion Espers, and Yomikawa. My bad. Oh, the fact that there are actually more than 7 Level 5s will come up in the future in fun ways! Just you wait. But not all those children that were shown to resist the effects of Level Eater were Espers. One was actually a Magician, and not related at all to Gunha. Though their interactions are far from over. And one is a special case that can't be defined by either Magic or Science. And the reason I left out Accelerator's effects as Mila absorbed the AIM of all the students, is because she was still trying to absorb them at the moment. Her mind had actually broken down when she absorbed not one, but 2 Number 1 Level 5s. Also, Kakine didn't have a child.**

 **BlueJack22: I actually had Face My Fears playing during that grand final battle. I do love me some Zebrahead though! Touma didn't gain an upgrade to Imagine Breaker though; I guess he did gain some resilience with it though. But I can't not say that some weird and new ways for that mysterious power won't be discovered.**

 **ArmoredCoreNineBall: You have no idea how long I have been planning Mila's rampage for. Since the very beginning of when I began thinking of writing my own fanfic with ToAru! But not all those kids we've seen during that lull of activity at the birth of A City of Wisps, were Level 5s; not even Espers! Ah, I see you've begun to catch an inkling of what I got going with those two, eh? Ooohh, wait until you see what I've done with the Sister's Arc! Shit's going to get crazy!**

 **Guest #2: I won't say~! But she is a daughter of one of two famous Teleporters! And yeah, I know I messed up with the billion vs. million bit concerning Espers. In my defense, the B key and M key are very close, and I get the two numerals confused.**

 **Fyr Rednight: Ya like the Zeroes War/Level Eater Arc, huh? Boy, than you're going to go crazy once I release the Sisters/Family Arc to come later on! You got a good eye on ya there with your guesses, but they were pretty obvious in my opinion. Good luck guessing the others though! It'll be some time until ya can connect them dots.**

 **Anti-Mage29: I'm sure you'll get who their mothers are as we go on. You are right with that girl being either Musugime's or Kuroko's though. And boy, are Touma's misfortunes only just beginning. That kind of despair though, will create cracks.**

 **All done with those! This is the end of our original Arc! Once we're back, it's onto a completely new canon.**

 **I'm just so excited to see that one at its end! So, get scrolling already!**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: _I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index. All rights are reserved to Kazuma Kamachi._**

 _ **You know what's truly the worst part of being a writer? It's the fact that you're constantly coming up with ideas that you know you just don't have the time to write.**_ **_There's my original content that I'm constantly trying to finish; there's my fanfiction, with much including crossovers I really want to do; and than there's my smut._**

 ** _. . .What? Ya, uh, didn't know I wrote smut? Pfft, some people, I guess, haven't taken a peek at my Arc Works story; Chapter 3._**

 ** _You know there's a reason why I exclusively write M rated content, right? Because I have no shame, and lost my dictionary that would allow me to learn what decency means. Whatever it is, it sounds sexy._**

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

 **Epilogue: A Bittersweet Ending is still Sweet.**

 ** _Clench_Your_Fist._**

"Today marks the second day after the infamous District wide attacks by an unknown homeland terrorist group. Casualties of the mass chaos event can only be attributed to those who resided in District 10; a district that's seen a decline in activity with students and teachers alike due to the many controversial facilities found within, along with it being home to many gangs. Of all the districts to have been hit the hardest, it was District 10 that had suffered the most damage. It is believed that the unknown attacker of the mass attacks was a large group of Level 0s associated with Skill-Out after several thugs had been taken into custody earlier last night. Further investigations will continue as the story develops further within the next few days. Rumors are being speculated that Academy City's own Board Chairman himself, Aleister wi-"

All over the streets of District after District, news of the attack on all of Academy City's streets could be seen playing over the screens of the city's tall buildings. From their TV to their blimps and even online news feed, the events of the past 48 hours and all the questions of WHY, were being witnessed by the citizens of the great city of science. It had been a city wide event, so it was only obvious that everyone would be up in the air with questions of the destruction they had all survived.

A War Between Zeroes. A Mass Hijacking of Machines. The Level Eater Network. An Out of Control Esper That Nearly Wiped Out an Entire District. A New World Born Out of Despair. A Demon Girl.

Of those events that had taken place, only two were publicly known.

It was said that District 10 had been involved in a gang war over territorial control, to usurp the unofficial leader of all of Skill-Out; Komaba Ritoku, and gain the title of leader of all of the factions that carried the Skill-Out name. It was also said that the entire war on the streets had been a form of riots against the unfair benefits that Academy City had bestowed those who were labeled as Level 0. There had been a lot of things to unpack from what was the cause of those fights between Level 0s as it seemed that every few faction that had played a major role in the destruction of District 10 had something different to say about why they were fighting.

Much of what had caused the war was being investigated. All that could truly be said was that many lives had been lost in the gang war.

As for the other districts that had been occupied with their own problems involving the rise of machines that's sole purpose were to better the life of all those who resided in Academy City; it was believed to be a hijacking.

An unknown organization or person had somehow been able to hijack the autonomous machines that bettered the lives of those students and adults. With the control of an army of machines, that unknown hijacker had wrecked havoc like a child who had just discovered he had command of battalion of newly bought toys. The streets had been consumed by utter havoc that seemed to have served no purpose other than wrecking whatever they could and attacking whoever they could.

No casualties had been found, unlike District 10. Of those who had been harmed by the hijacked army of machines, there had been reports of only five fatally injured. Those five had recovered in thanks to Academy City's greatest frog faced doctor. Other than the damage done to the city's structure, there had been no major losses.

It was said that the hijacker had been taken down by a special task force belonging to Academy City. It was said they had taken their own life. It was said that it had been a glitch to Academy City's own programming. It was said that it had all been because of some unknown Esper who had lost control of their own ability to manipulate machines.

No one said that either incidents involving the whole of Academy City, and the gang war of District 10, were connected in the slightest.

All that mattered at the moment was that everything in the great city of science had settled and returned to their everyday normalcy. All unaware of the dark shadows that lurked beneath their feet.

Yes, that was the normal for Academy City. A blissful world that shined and lurked with darkness. A city you could find anywhere else in that regard.

The world that they called their home had nearly come to an end. But they continued to continue living, unaware of death's eager hands having been so close to reaping their lives.

The fact that they could all go back to their normal lives and routines was all that mattered to them. The deep details and cold truths were the least of their worries right now.

* * *

"Don't you think any of that seemed a little too. . .suspicious? I mean, both of those events happened parallel to another, and yet no one seems to bother thinking about connecting the dots? It just seems odd."

But while a majority of the city had grown to ignore the news coverage of the terrorist attack to go back to their normal lives, there were still a few groups who continued to eye the unraveling story. And others who were able to question the truth of the matter. Even if it was simply out of a sense of curiosity and nothing more.

The middle school girl in who asked the question of linking the two events sipped her chilled premium green tea with her brown eyes eyeing the news playing on the the large TV screen outside the expensive cafe that was commonly frequented by a certain class of girls. The girl had short chestnut brown hair and wore the standard Tokiwadai uniform with the only thing standing out of the picture perfect Ojou being the shorts underneath her skirt and her baggy socks.

That girl was known as the Number 3 Level 5, Misaka Mikoto; The Railgun. The third strongest Esper in all of Academy City.

She was not alone. She sat alongside three other girls inside the booth. One was another ojou from Tokiwadai; a red pigtailed girl with ribbons and reddish eyes that stared at Misaka with nothing short of adoration. Or obsession. Across from the two rich girls were two dark haired girls wearing a common sailors school uniform. On the right sat a girl with long raven locks, green eyes that spoke of a youthful mischief, and a flower clip on her hair. Next to her was a girl with shorter cut dark hair, brown eyes, and a floral band on her hair that helped to make her stand out with her average appearance.

They were the Railgun gang. It was a funny little nickname for their group, created by one Saten Ruiko. They were a group of friends that was compromised of one Level 5, one Level 4, one Level 1, and one Level 0. Despite their Levels and abilities, or lack of for one girl, they had grown to see each other as close friends.

The question rose a curious brow from the girl with straight black hair and a flower clip on her hair; Saten Ruiko. The girl who adored urban legends and mysteries tapped away on her phone with a hum as she looked back to Misaka.

"Well, you're not the only one who thinks that. I've been reading a lot of rumors on the online message boards about the two attacks that happened two days. A lot people are saying that they were both just distractions and that a much bigger conspiracy is at work. But that's just the usual conspiracy theorists making up exciting stories. Like the time someone had said they saw a dragon of all things fighting some random student."

A Dragon? In Academy City? This was a place of science, not fantasy.

Still, it had been fun to read the made up conspiracy theory of some heroic Esper fighting to protect two girls against a beast of literal fantasy. It was those kind of conspiracies that Saten loved to read.

Even now, she was reading over the many theories and rumors born from the attack on District 10 and the rest of the city. All of which couldn't be true. Or could they? Saten couldn't help but grow giddy at the thought of another urban legend she could hunt down in her spare time.

It would be even better now that she had a new friend to help investigate the legends with.

Misaka couldn't help but think there was more to those rumors than believed. She after all knew of what had happened to everyone in the city after all the chaos created by those hijacked machines settled.

A mass loss of consciousness. The entire city had fallen under some sort of. . .spell that put them to sleep. She had witnessed it as she had been out helping to take out the hijacked machines as the third strongest Esper. As she had begun talking with some Anti-Skill members about what she had seen, everyone around her had been knocked out. Their minds had shut down. At first, she believed it had been the work of another Level 5; one who could control the minds of humans with remotes for her petty reasons, but realized it had been much more than just a random attack close to her.

Everyone in the city of Academy City had their minds shut down like a computer that was saving energy. Misaka had been the only one who had been unaffected. At least, that was what she believed.

The city wide mass of lost consciousness had only lasted for three minutes. When everyone had awoke, they felt refreshed in body, but found their minds sore. As if they had just awoken from an all night cram session for an upcoming exam. Other than some headaches, no one was hurt.

It had been explained that the cause for the loss of consciousness was due to the mysterious hacker. Someone had stopped the culprit and saved everyone from whatever plan had been planned.

Of course there were many who questioned what had happened. But nothing bad had been done to them. They had all just taken a three minute nap and awoke with headaches. There was nothing to worry about, they said.

Misaka didn't believe it. Something had happened. But this seemed like a much bigger event than herself. She didn't like it, but she couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't any of her business. There was little to no need to poke at the beehive when it had just calmed down.

Suspicion aside, she returned to cooled green tea with a sigh.

It wouldn't do to worry about any of it. Not if she wanted wrinkles.

"At least everything is returning to normal here. Can't say the same for District 10." Misaka frowned with a sip of her tea.

With her fingers ever furiously tapping away at her laptop, Uiharu Kazari looked up with an equally sad tinged frown.

"I heard that about sixty casualties have been confirmed by Anti-Skill as they worked to deal with anymore of the gangs who want to continue with causing trouble. To think an actual gang war had been happening during all the commotion two days ago. It's no wonder no one had been able to notice with all of Anti-Skill and Judgment occupied with the hijacker."

Kuroko Shirai had stopped her ever loving ogling of her onee-sama to add in her two cents.

"Of course none of us had noticed. All our communication feeds were flooded with requests for back up and plans of how to deal with the machines. I mean, we had to deal with unmanned Powered Suits for crying out loud!" Kuroko groaned in exasperation as she rubbed her forehead that was bandaged. As a member of Judgment, she was of course out in the streets to deal with the mayhem. It had been easy enough to deal with the cleaning bots, but when the lumbering form of a Powered Suit had shown up, things had become difficult.

"I just wish I had known who the hijacker was. No one messes with my private time with onee-sama's bed!"

"I thought I caught a hint of your stink on my pillows! And why the hell was it wet?!"

A spark had zipped to that perverted pig tailed Teleporter's shoulder and sent her falling out of the booth with electricity frying her body. Something Kuroko was more than use to. As the Railgun's number one fan, she had built a heavy tolerance to such power.

Ignoring the happily giggling mess that was a finely charred Kuroko, Uiharu happily went on as she read an article of the after math of District 10's destruction.

"At least Academy City is planning on fixing up the district. A representative explained that they've been ignoring the district that's home to many Level 0s for far too long. That they have only themselves to blame for those students believing that they failed them. They even say that they're willing to speak with the leader of Skill-Out to better move along with the repairs, seeing as they say that District 10's Level 0s are led by some kind of boss in charge of their actions."

"Skill-Out has an actual leader?" Misaka remarked in surprise. The only kind of leader they had seen from that organization had been Konori's old friend who ran his own faction of Skill-Out; Big Spider. She never knew that Skill-Out as a whole had an actual leader who oversaw everything. The leader must have been the king of delinquents.

"That's all just talk though. Who knows what will happen? From what rumors I've read, the leader is this big, muscled bound, gorilla like man who always has a stern expression." Saten added in as she stuck her spoon into the large fruit decorated parfait next to a certain flower girl's laptop. She happily munched down on the delicacy, ignoring the pouting glare from her best friend as she continued, "Skill-Out as a whole doesn't have any actual leadership. They have this thing called Top Dogs; leader's of Skill-Out's factions that control a piece of District 10. They all share the name of the organization, but don't actually follow under anyone but themselves. But some do say that there is this unofficial leader beneath the hierarchy that controls how they act. Maybe that's who they're talking about?"

Who knew? District 10 was largely ignored by Academy City. It was a district home to unsavory laboratories and thugs. No one big really cared to understand how things worked there.

Things were back to normal. That was all that mattered to anyone. Questions and mysteries could be answered later. Right now, they were all much more focused on continuing with their lives without any worries.

Stealing one last spoonful of Uiharu's delicious parfait, Saten rose up from her seat with a stretch of her arms above her head. She grinned at everyone as she shut her phone.

"Well, as fun and relaxing as this is to catch up with you guys is, I gotta go! I promised my friend that I would be going along with her to plan out her next visit to her friend's hospital room. She said something about needed help with cheering him up, or something. And I can't exactly ignore a request from my senpai."

Moving out of the way to let Saten leave, Uiharu along with the other girls of the Railgun gang, grew curious at the mention of a new friend.

"You're meeting a friend?" Uiharu asked uncertainly before her eyes lit up in recognition, "Oh! You mean Toka-chan, right!"

"Toka-chan?" Misaka had never heard that name before.

Saten nodded happily, more than eager to explain.

"She's this older girl I got to meet a few days ago while on one of my urban legend hunts. She actually saved me from these back alley goons. And I've been hanging out with her every chance that I have. She actually likes to hear about all the urban legends too! Especially that really famous one about a certain Esper who can negate abilities!"

Feeling a buzz in her hand, Saten opened her cell back up to notice a text. Looks like her friend was outside waiting. She shut it with a smile and turned her eyes to the glass window, bringing attention to all the girl's to the older girl outside as Saten ran off with a bye on her lips.

The Railgun gang found a girl in high school who wore a A Certain High School's uniform. She had unruly long dark hair and a few bandages of her own on her person. Appearance wise, she appeared rather average and could probably blend in with any crowd in the streets. And it looked like that average high school girl had also been caught up in the chaos of the past 48 hours.

But to Misaka's eyes, she appeared more than that.

Those dark blue eyes, carefree and kind, reminded her far too much of a certain boy with spiky dark hair she met this year. It kinda took her by surprise.

 _'She kinda looks like that spiky haired idiot.'_

Weird.

* * *

"Same as yesterday then?"

A frog faced doctor only known by Heaven Canceler sighed after receiving a stiff nod from the female nurse walking beside him down the halls of A Certain Hospital. In his hand he held several charts detailing the health of his favorite old patient who had once again arrived a bloody mess. Honestly, the boy must have had a masochistic fetish to explain all the injuries he was commonly found with. Note to self, Heaven Cancelar mused with a few flips of the medical charts on hand. Bring the boy a few copies of Garter Belt Nurses. Not only would it cheer him up, but then he would finally have someone to share his love of nurses with.

"Doctor, your nose."

Heaven Canceler coughed into his fist, discretely cleaning off the small trickle of red down his nose. Unfortunately that didn't go unnoticed from the suspicious glare from his colleague.

Back to the main subject then, "Well, despite the multiple lacerations over a large majority of his body, the twelve out of twenty-three broken bones in his right arm, internal bleeding, sprains on his ankles, bruises, fractures, and gun shot like wounds by some piercing force, second degree burns on a good half of his body, and a fractured jaw, and the critical pints of blood lost, our dear Kamijou Touma is fine."

". . . .What part of any of what you said is fine!?"

Heaven Canceler shrugged at the outburst from the lovely nurse, "Believe it or not, I find this state of wear rather common. I've dealt with a cracked skull that needed to be put back together like a jigsaw, piercing blows from a pile bunker, a severed arm, bites from what appeared to be some giant beast of all things, and utter memory loss. As one of the many nurses who oversees that boy's health, you shouldn't be all too surprised by the condition Kamijou-san stumbles in. It would be far more concerning to see him here for something as simple as only one broken bone." he said far too lax for a man speaking of a treasured patient's medical history.

The nurse in question, wearing the typical hospital uniform you would find in any typical hospital, remained with a frown despite agreeing with the infamous doctor of Academy City.

Nurses and doctors alike who were part of the staff of A Certain Hospital were all too familiar with one particular patient who had frequented their ER far too many times to be called healthy. In fact, one would question the health and sanity of that particular boy when they got even a peek at the long medical history belonging to Kamijou Touma. This nurse could still remember the first time she had met the unfortunate boy known as Kamijou Touma.

It was the first time she believed she would bear witness to a child dying. Safe to say, it wasn't the most pleasant of memories for her to hold onto.

What was it? Four? Five years? That was when she had first been brought in as an OR nurse and been tasked with helping the frog faced doctor with a young boy's life on the line.

Red was stained the entire left side of the spiky middle school boy's body, having suffered from some kind of unknown crushing force. From what she had heard about the incident, he had been on a class trip to visit District 6; a district famously known for its recreational facilities and amusement park.

Such a school trip should have been filled with bright smiles, laughs, and cherished memories for those young children. Terror had greeted those young flowers though in the form of death sweeping its scythe for those school children.

A college student Esper had gone wild with his ability earlier that day, apparently due to some unknown Esper amplifying drug, and had been on the run from both Judgment and Anti-Skill. The man had a Level 4 Ability that revolved around gravity fields. They had called his ability, Meteor Down. Why?

Because whatever he focused his sights on would come plummeting down to the earth with the destructive force of a falling meteor with the proper calculations of his Personal Reality.

It just so happened that the members of Academy City's protective force had cornered him in District 6, catching him as he had tried to blend in with the many other students and tourists in the amusement park. The moment the panicked student had been spotted, he had let his ability go wild again in an attempt to escape in the chaos.

The details weren't well known to the nurse, but she had learned that many of those in the attraction rides that relied on physics and suspension were heavily affected. Many had been hurt. But in the end, that out of control Esper had been stopped. No one really knows how as all those who had been tasked with taking the user of Meteor Down had been knocked out by a crushing field of gravity that stamped them to the ground.

All they had to go on was that the Level 4 Esper had been laid out by a blow to the face. Which explained the single tooth that was dislodged from his mouth.

Out of all those injured in the chaos created by one Esper, the man known as Heaven Canceler had made it his top priority to tend to one boy above all others. She wasn't sure, why until she herself saw his condition.

It was as if someone had thrown down an invisible anvil onto that little spiky haired boy's body. His left shoulder had been broken, his legs had suffered fractures, and his skull had been cracked. The condition he came in should have been enough to tell them all it would be pointless to save him. He was barely breathing as blood had begun to fill his lungs. He would have been lucky to come out with a physical disability.

Thanks to Heaven Canceler's astounding skills, the boy she would come to know as Kamijou Touma had been saved. The little Level 0 had spent a few days in what they all would eventually call the Kamijou Ward with a depressed aura over his little frame. Seeing as Touma had been her first patient, she had decided to stop by and visit the boy in the guise of checking his condition. She simply wanted to know more about the boy she had helped to save. What she had heard from that innocent little boy still broke her heart to this day.

 _'It's my fault. Everyone's fun day was ruined because of me and my misfortune. People were hurt because of my rotten aura infecting everyone. Nothing's changed. I'm. . .still a curse; a God of Pestilence.'_

Those eyes that should have been brimming with light were dull and sullen. No tears ran down the child's face despite the pain he was no doubt enduring. The chaos and pain everyone who had been caught up in the rampage of a hysteric Esper, were all solely blamed and accepted by a child who had no right to ever think such guilty thoughts.

She had found a truly miserable child that day.

Time went on, and the nurse would come to find that little boy with an aura of misfortune back in their care again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

Each time she had seen that boy, her heart had cracked. No child should have frequented a hospital's OR more than once in her opinion. No child should have suffered that many broken bones. No child should have seen that much red soaking their clothing. No child should have ever felt the agony of a gunshot, a knife stab, a crowbar, or destructive psychic ability.

No child should have accepted such suffering as if they deserved it for simply existing.

Thankfully that gloomy, depressing, miserable air that hung over the spiky boy's head had lessened. He had come to find some normalcy in his hectic life. Though he would continue to wind up in their care time and time again, she would find Touma's lips lifting ever so sightly upon every visit.

Until one daym she had come to visit the boy, and found a bright smile on his bandaged face. She couldn't help herself and asked why he was smiling.

 _'Hmm? I don't know really. I just feel. . .that I've changed someones rotten luck for once. It makes me kinda happy to know that they no longer have to suffer such misery again. After all, I'm the only who deserves to be cursed with misfortune.'_

Wrong. The words leaving that bed ridden boy were just wrong. As if he deserved to be the only one to suffer any kind of misfortune. Of all the people she had treated in the following years, that spiky haired boy was the most deserving of happiness and fortune.

The nurse couldn't help but sigh tiredly with a growing ache in her head. What a problem child Kamijou Touma was. Such a reckless boy. She wasn't a woman of faith, she was a resident of Academy City after all; a godless world of pure science; but she couldn't help but pray that she could go one measly month without seeing the unfortunate boy in their care again.

Once again, Kamijou Touma was in their care for grievous wounds he would no doubt recover from. Give him at least two days without any disturbances in his usual hospital room, and he would be as good as new.

At least, that was what she would have liked to believe.

Heaven Canceler noticed that his colleague had stopped walking. Curious, he glanced back to see the nurse, a woman with dark raven haired that fell in two long bangs over both her shoulders to her busty breasts, and pearly pink eyes, lightly tanned skin, stare down at the pristine white tiled floor with a tremble on her lips.

"It's different this time, sir. Kamijou-kun's wounds may have been treated, we may have reduced the chance of scarring, and he should see a full recovery in week's time, but. . .he's still in pain. It's like. . .like that miserable little boy has returned."

Ah, that then?

Heaving a weary sigh, Heaven Canceler wasn't sure what to say back in response.

A broken spirit wasn't something modern or advance science could ever strive to fix. The heart was the same.

* * *

 _"Mila-san?"_

 _". . .Touma?"_

 **CRACK!**

 _That delicate, trembling, soft hand in Touma's own had rigged streaks run along the skin. Cracks grew from the point of contact of that spiky boy's right hand; the hand that destroyed the supernatural. An audible strain of glass put under incredible strain echoed in their ears as those crack lines grew to travel over every inch of Mila's paling skin to the point Touma could see the horrid lines reach her quivering lips._

 _A disgusting, sick, disturbing lump grew in Touma's throat. The tears gathering in Mila's own confused and terrified eyes were reflected on his own as he tried to speak. His voice trembled._

 _"Mila-san, wha-"_

 _Shattering glass interrupted him._

 _The lonely girl who's cries had been ignored for so long, only to be pulled up by her feet by a caring hand, completely broke apart in Touma's eyes. Eyes of horror and despair were all that he had seen before the girl known as Mila was destroyed in a burst of shimmering shards that vanished as they blew past his face like fading pecks._

 _Like an illusion._

 _Imagine Breaker did what it did best._

 _It killed the supernatural._

 _"Aahhh. . .ahhahhhh. . .AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

Touma awoke with a scream of terror that tore his throat. It felt like he was bleeding from his vocal chords.

Sweat slid down the spiky haired boy's bandaged face profusely, soaking his hospital gown in cold sweat that stuck the blue material to his bandaged chest. His entire body was trembling from the nightmare he had woken from as he sat up with panting heavily with wild eyes. Though he had various bandages patching up the numerous wounds from his visit to District 10, the greatest and most wrenching that engulfed him, was the once centered in his quaking chest. Everything else felt numb compared to what crushed his heart.

It was just a nightmare. Just a horrible, twisted, cruel nightmare of his own illusions.

". . . . .M-Mila."

Sadly, that illusion was broken to bits. Not even the most blissful, kind, warm of illusions were safe from that boy's touch.

Body wracking sobs hit Touma's body as he covered his face with his hand. His body fell back against the bed as tears continued to roll down his bandaged cheeks to mix with the sweat.

Once again, Touma had found himself waking up in a hospital bed. Only this time, he wasn't blessed with the gift of memory loss. No, he recalled every cruel detail of the aftermath of his fight with the lonely star known as Mila Etoille.

Upon being touched by Imagine Breaker, she had shattered to pieces and disappeared right before his eyes. He hadn't known it, but her entire body, even though it had been cut off from The Level Eater Network, was now entirely composed of AIM Diffusion Fields. She had no longer been human. She had become a supernatural being born of science.

In other words, he had killed that lonely girl he had fought so hard to save with his own hand.

Imagine Breaker had made him a killer. A murderer. A life had been ended because he had simply reached his hand out to someone in need.

Realizing that it was said right hand on his face, Touma retched the offending limb with a teary snarl.

Illusion Killer.

It was only now that Touma understood the second moniker to this. . .this cursed right hand.

Why? Why couldn't he have been born with a normal right hand?! Why did it have to be him who had to wield such a cruel, cold, deadly hand, that could only bring him misfortune? What the hell was the purpose of such a power that could only break whatever good fortune he could grasp pathetically with his beaten hands?!

Shattered to fading pieces. The life of a lonely girl who was ready to turn over to a brighter note in her life was destroyed by someone who hadn't been able to do anymore than paint his knuckles with her blood.

Who's fault was it that Mila could no longer step into the same light as normal students?

No doubt, that blame was solely on a certain Kamijou Touma's quivering shoulders and tears.

After about five minutes of sobbing at the crushing ache in his chest born by the death of one girl, Touma could only stare above at the blank white ceiling of his hospital room. His eyes were vacant, red and puffy, with dark circles growing below his eyelids. He could feel his stomach grumble, speaking up about the lack of a proper meal in the last few days. Idly, his eyes glanced at the tray of food left behind by the hospital staff that was no doubt dry and cold.

How many days had it been since Touma had a real meal? How long ago was it that he had found himself accidentally dropped off into a District famously known as a gang territory? How long ago had it been since he had run through the gang war torn streets in search of his friends, only to tumble into a far greater threat to the city?

How long had it been since he met a lonely foreign girl, and killed her so cruelly?

Again, that sullen Level 0s stomach barked, this time more viciously. Hunger pains brought a wince to Touma's face and forced his weak hands to pull that tray of old food closer. He found two slices of toast that clinked like porcelain plates devoid of warmth, scrambled eggs that felt like cool rubber, bacon strips that broke apart like dry wood, and lukewarm orange juice alongside a specially bought pudding topped with a melon, an old favorite that Touma had come to enjoy whenever he got the chance.

Touma grimaced, his teeth gritting as his body trembled at the little cutesy drawn note beside the expensive pudding.

 _'Get better soon, Touma! We miss you!'_

Two nuns, one with raven hair, one with white silver hair, were what greeted that boy along with a calico cat. For a fourteen year old girl, Index still drew like she was ten.

Other than two pieces of cold toast, Touma ignored everything else on the tray while only taking a few sips of the warm juice. It was hardly much, but it was just enough to bring the barking from his stomach to a whimper. He could deal with that just fine.

The pain he was experiencing all over was what a killer like him deserved.

 _'It's all your fault. Scum like you deserves nothing but suffering in isolation. A failure like you. . .deserves nothing more than misfortune.'_

Part of Touma knew that to be true. He was a failure, a killer, the worst kind of human who could only contribute ill fortune to the world.

 _'You could have done better. You could have fought harder. You could have used Imagine Breaker better! If you had just fought with your head, if you had just acted on logic instead of emotion, if you had just learned to use other tools than your own, if you had just learned to resolve things without swinging your fist; you could have saved her!'_

Bandaged, beaten, broken, fingers gripped at Touma's head in response to his inner demons. The voices of regret, of anger, of hate, of grief, were all centered to place the rightful blame onto him. On the failure of a certain Level 0.

 _'If it had been That Level 0, she would have been saved. A husk could never hope to achieve the original's strength. In all honestly, you were better off never born in his shadow.'_

Kamijou Touma, the REAL Kamijou Touma; would he have been able to do what this failure of a Level 0 couldn't? Would that common high school boy been able to reach out to that girl's hand without killing her with the thought of a brighter tomorrow?

If this Kamijou Touma had never been born that fateful summer day, would the girl known as Mila Etoile still be alive?

"I. . .I. . ."

Quivering, shaken, uncertain, weak and miserable lips struggled to speak in response to that thought beginning to form. To speak of that wish he was never sure he could ever say out loud.

The wish regarding the boy's who borrowed heart he could never hope to ever call his own.

* * *

"Touma. . ."

Outside that lonely, grief stricken spiky haired boy's hospital room, a silver haired nun in a golden embroiled white habit, could only stand in front of the locked room with a sullen sigh.

Trying to open the door wouldn't do much. It was locked by that boy who wanted only one thing right now. Isolation. After everything Touma had done for her, someone who had once been a stranger who caught him up in the flames of magicians, and never asked for anything in return, Index could only comply. If she had really wanted to, she was sure she could break open the door with some help.

But she didn't. Out of respect for her hero and best friend.

In the aftermath of the The Level Eater, Index had found herself being woken up by Angela. Her body was sore, but thanks to a last minute defensive spell from the older raven haired nun, Index and everyone else had survived the collapse of the secret research facility. All but one person had been protected by the protection of god.

Once they had all recovered from the aches and sores plaguing them from surviving tons of debris threatening to crush them to death, the group consisting of four Level 0s and two nuns had made their way out of the nuclear facility. Thanks to a team of Skill-Out lead by one of Komaba's right hands, they had escaped District 10 after so long of being trapped in the gang war. With the chaos now over with, Anti-Skill was able to act once again and promptly stopped the hijacked vans that belonged to them.

Index didn't remember much of what happened next, other than going into a high sped chase to escape the officers that would no doubt arrest Komaba and Hamazura despite them helping to put an end to the chaos. They were lucky to have lost them.

With no idea where to go since Touma was no doubt gone and responsible for the end of The Level Eater's carnage, Index, Angela, and Toka had been dropped off near the student dorms of District 7 to await him when he eventually came back to their home as he always did.

Several hours had passed. A head of spiky black hair had not walked back as they had hoped. Instead, their dorm received a heart wrenching phone call from A Certain Hospital.

Touma had just come out of the ER after hours of surgery. He was lucky to be alive.

Two days had gone by since then. And Index, nor Angela or Toka, had been able to see Touma since he came to.

No one was allowed to enter. Through the locked door of his room, Touma had begged, pleaded, in a shaken voice to be left alone. Something had happened, something terrible. For some reason, he had blamed himself and called himself pathetic. A failure.

A killer who would only shatter the happy illusions they cherished so much.

Index couldn't bring herself to selfishly break in and force the suffering boy she owed her life to explain everything to her. Not when his wounds were still very much fresh. Even Angela had said it would be better if Touma was left alone. For just a bit.

That bit turned into two days and going on three. Every time Index gathered the strength to knock on that door and ask if she could come in, she would hear the agonized cries of her hero who didn't have the strength to even lie to her.

Again, Index stood in front of the door, wishing she could just reach the handle and come in. All she wanted to do was comfort him, as he always did to her. To bring a smile to his face. To drag him out of his own hell as he did to her

Her hand slowly came to grasp the locked handle. She froze, hearing the sound of flesh smacking against the wall inside with a furious, grief stricken roar. Against her best wishes, she retreated and could only stare down at the well polished tiled floor with a bit lip.

A tear of her own fell. It pained her greatly to know that her best friend was hurting so much. And she couldn't even be brave enough to do a damn thing about it. So much for being a follower of god's teachings.

"Index, you shouldn't feel so guilty. I don't think Kamijou-san would be happy to know he's the reason you're crying."

From the other end of the hall, Index drew her head up to find Angela walking back with an armful of plastic bags. The older holy sister had gone for a run to a nearby convenience store for treats they could shower Touma with once he opened up and let them in. Even though Index would normally eat whatever goodies they had, she had reeled back her ever present hunger and hadn't taken a single nibble out of any of Touma's tasty treats.

Sniffling, Index returned to her chair against the wall facing the door to Touma's hospital room. Angela quickly sat next to her with a weary sigh, setting down the bags with soft frown on her features.

"I guess he still hasn't unlocked the door."

Index shook her head negatively.

"Do you know if he's eaten any of the food the nurses have left him?"

She did not. But from the dejected, sad expression on the nurse who came by three hours earlier, he hadn't even touched his dinner from the night before. It wouldn't surprise the silver sister if Touma hadn't even noticed his cold breakfast.

"Has Heaven Canceler stopped by yet? Does he have any news of Kamijou-san's condition?"

No, the funny amphibian faced doctor hadn't shown his face since yesterday. Out of everyone in this city, only he and the nurses had seen or interacted with Touma. A special privilege not even Index had been given.

"Has he. . .stopped crying?"

Index's own hiccup answered all she ever could with words. A dead silence made the impact of those tears hitting the sterilized hospital floor echo.

And Angela couldn't take it anymore.

The seat next to the misty eyed little holy Sister fell to the side with a rough bang. Index was startled, blinking tears away as she looked to her friend for the sudden loud action.

That's when she saw it, the furious glare full of rolling tears on Angela's own miserable face.

"A-Angela?"

"No more."

The older, more mature raven haired nun's voice was heavy with the same pain of not being able to do a thing to stop that precious person from crying. Index could see that Angela's fists were balled up tightly at her side, shaking as her chest trembled with every word.

"Kamijou-san, of all people, doesn't deserve to suffer by himself. He doesn't deserve to believe that he's some bad luck charm; that he's a failurel that he's responsible for saving everyone; that he's better off alone, OR THAT HE'S SOME FUCKING GOD OF PESTILENCE!"

Those tear fueled, brokenhearted, anguished words came from a different place.

Of a future where Angela had seen that man who was no greater hero to anyone else than to her, reduced to walking his path alone because of his apparent curse.

A World of Smiles. That was the reason Kamijou Touma would one day abandon those who held nothing but love and respect for him. Because he believed that he would one day, without doubt, shatter the happy lives of those he cherished to illusions.

It was happening right here. The man she would happily call Father was returning. And he would leave her once again because of his ever present misfortune.

Long ago, Angela had been too young to do a thing to stop that man from walking the road of isolation. Her small, weak, little fingers failed to grasp onto his hand as he turned his back to her and her mother.

In truth, Angela had another purpose for traveling to the past. It wasn't to just help her father grow stronger to protect their future.

It was to stop the birth of the God of Pestilence from once again being awakened.

Index had been stunned by the pained shout from Angela. She was further surprised to see that delicate girl's right hand fly up with a balled fist.

"Wait, ANGELA!"

* * *

All it had taken was a single punch for that locked door to break open.

Touma had grown stiff, his bloody right hand pausing in its bashing against the wall beside him. Drips of red seeped from his bandages onto the floor, a guilty clue to what he had been doing while he had been at his lowest.

He hated it. Honestly, he despised the right hand he was cursed to forever live his life with. A hand he apparently couldn't even cut off after it had somehow attached itself during The Level Eater mess. For as long as he breathed, it would forever follow him to present him with ill fortune.

There was nothing he wished for more than to get it the fuck off.

Anger and hate fueled him to mercilessly punish Imagine Breaker. Over and over again, he smacked his already broken arm against the wall. If his right hand could feel pain, than it deserved it. A killer deserved nothing but being beaten into a bloody mess.

The door being broken open by a punch from Angela had stopped him just he was beginning to feel a terrifying numbness crawl over his entire arm.

Shame caused Touma to quickly retreat his now blood stained, bandaged hand, below his blanket. But the smear of blood on the cracked wall was evident enough of his self harm.

He sighed tiredly, too drained to even stare back at Angela and Index as he looked away at the window.

"Angela, Index, I thought I tol-"

"Shut up! For once, you're going to be the one shutting the fuck up, and listening!"

Touma flinched. Okay, that was a first, enough to even break him out of his own self loathing. A holy Sister of all people had swore. He couldn't help but gulp and sink further back into his bed as Angela' s suddenly intimidating figure loomed over him. Was this. . .was this divine punishment for causing a nun to saying a word as vulgar as 'fuck'?

"U-Um, Angela-chan? T-There's n-no need to harm this p-pathetic, miserable, failure of a Kamijou Touma any further!" Touma begged with a weak smile as he sweated bullets beneath the shadow of a Saint.

"Stop it, please. Just. . .stop."

Touma was taken back, his pleas dying in his throat at the soft, trembling voice. His eyes grew wide at what he was seeing.

Those green eyes far too similar to Index's own were overflowing with tears that seem to have been contained for who knows how long. Tear after tear drop fell from Angela's pained expression that spoke of a deep seated sadness and loss he had never caught until now.

That face that seemed to have suffered a world of heartbreak and grief had struck Touma's heart far too close for reasons he couldn't ever hope to understand.

"Angela. . ."

"I don't know what happened to you, I don't know why you think you're a killer, and I don't know just how deep your pain is, but I know that it's not your fault!"

Not his fault? A bitter smile grew on Touma's lips. Wasn't that further from the truth? If she knew, if Index knew, of what he had done in trying to save someone; would they still look at him the say way as they did days before? Would they not see a murderer?

"You don't understand, Angela-san. It was, without a shred of a doubt, my fault. It's. . .it's always my fault, right?" he said lowly with resentment.

All manner of miserable events were drawn naturally to one without any luck. Incident after incident would rear its head to Touma. He would always see the darkness of the world at ever corner. Because that was just his luck.

Beneath the red stained covers, the wounded right hand seeping with blood cracked.

"Because of my right hand, I've always fated to ruin other peoples normal lives. My own misfortune constantly drags other people into my own problems. Isn't that why you and Index found yourselves stuck in the middle of a gang war? Two girls like you had no place in the midst of all that violence. I even dragged Komaba-san along with Fremea-chan. People were hurt because of this lousy right hand that seems to only attract the worst in the world."

A part of Touma felt. . .almost nostalgic to be blaming all the worlds misfortune on himself. As if the old Kamijou Touma had done the same. A part of that old high school boy seemed to understand that he could only ever cause trouble by being himself. That even others had agreed that he was the sole reason for all the wrongs of their little world.

An ache grew on the back of Touma's back, centered on an old scar from a past he could no longer recall.

"Even after trying so hard; after all the blood I paid; after facing opponents that were far beyond my level; I was doomed to fail! I couldn't even protect one girl! Everything I had done to save her was wasted because of this fucking right hand! Why? Why couldn't it have been someone else who had saved her?! Why was I the one who bothered to reach out his hand to her even though it would kill her?! Why the hell is it that I can only ever resolve things with violence and bloody knuckles?! WHY CAN I ONLY EVER BRING MISFORTUNE ONTO OTHERS?!"

Knowing that all he could do was spread his rotten luck to those close to him, wasn't it obvious what would be better for them all? A disease like him, one that wrought chaos and violence wasn't meant to get close to others. His right hand would surely kill their smiles. No blessings would ever fall upon them. That treasured dream of a peaceful life, filled with joy, innocent smiles, and bright laughs, would never be more than an illusion if he were to stay at their sides. Wouldn't it be better. . .if he just-

 **SMACK!**

A bright red open faced hand print marred Touma's stunned face from the slap to his face. The hand that had smacked him had done it with such force that it had knocked the owner's white habit headdress from her head, leaving her flowing raven locks to fall freely. Angela's face was twisted with anger and hot tears as she reared her hand back again.

 **SMACK!**

It was less powerful this time.

"Stop blaming the world's misfortune on yourself! Didn't you say it yourself?! You're just a normal high school boy! It's not your job to place the worlds troubles on your shoulder! It's not your role in this world to take all the sin of humanity and play scapegoat for all the misfortune wrought by others! You're not some holy shield created to endure the worlds evils! Something as unfair as that isn't your responsibility to hold!"

 **SMACK.**

It felt duller yet stung all the same.

"You fought to protect something precious, didn't you?! When all others had ignored what was happening right in front of their eyes, you refused to turn a blind eye to someones tears! When on others could hear, or care, cries; you did what no other bothered to do, and held your hand out! Even if it would only further bring you to the brink of despair, you fought your hardest to save them! Are you really telling me that you regret offering your hand, your voice, your kindness to even a stranger?!"

 **Smack.**

It couldn't even be called a slap, it felt more like a forceful pat to the cheek.

"Don't you dare think it would be better if you just left us; that our lives would be filled with fortune and pure smiles if you just kept your distance! That it would be just as good to stand outside our own worlds, and stay content with the occasional visit. That the only true World of Smiles you could ever create would be through your absence!"

That soft hand that had begun to throb and sting fell in for another slap, only to lose its strength and land on the spiky haired boy's chest. Angela's other hand joined in gripping Touma's damp hospital gown. At some point, the teenage raven haired nun had found herself on top of the bed, her body leaning over the still stunned wielder of Imagine Breaker. He couldn't find it in himself to say a word as those tears now trickled down to hit his face.

What could he even say? Everything that Angela had said seemed to strike some chord in him. A lot of what she said didn't make sense to him though. She talked as if he was some kind of hero that wandered the world with the sole purpose of fighting all the wrongs of this world. Like some savior from the bible. A World of Smiles? That phrase alone caused an uncomfortable tingle to arise from his already bashed up right hand.

Without knowing much, and only really knowing him for about a few days; perhaps a week; Angela had guessed that shameful thought of leaving the two nuns lives for their own good. Somehow that strange nun could see right through him.

"Please, don't make the same mistakes my father made."

That begging plea through tears brought a confused frown to Touma's face.

"Your. . .father?"

Angela bit her lip, seeming to realized she said too much. She took a deep breath, realizing she couldn't take back what she said. As if explaining herself would do much better than keeping it locked away.

"My father was a lot like you, Kamijou-san." Angela said slowly, sitting up as her teary green eyes seemed to stare at someone who was no longer in front of her. Almost as if she was seeing a mirage overlapping with Touma's own, "He was a man who couldn't stand seeing others suffer. If he could so much as lend a hand, even at the risk of his own well being, he wouldn't dare as think twice to act. He was a chivalrous man, a true hero, who only ever wished for the best of others. But that was his biggest flaw, the one that lead to his death."

That flaw was born of an event Angela had no knowledge of. Only a very select few knew of it; a golden period in time where their father had been at his happiest. Of what caused Kamijou Touma to abandon staying beside his friends for thier own good. To face the world's evils on his lonesome with his back kept to the blessed worlds he believed were better off without him.

"He placed everyone above himself. That someone who had no skill other than resolving whatever he didn't agree with, with fighting, was lower than even those who were responsible for whatever cruelty he was faced with. Like you, he also seemed to be cursed with bad luck, and believed that he was nothing more than a burden who infected others with his troubles. It's why he left my mother and I, because he honestly believed he could only ever do us any good by keeping a distance. I grew up with a beloved father who was in and out of my life consistently, never sticking around for more than a week at best for a holiday or birthday, because he thought he was nothing more than a plague upon our everyday lives!"

Touma gulped, finding himself listening to that strange nun who appeared out of nowhere after his battle against Aureolus Izzard. Again, everything she was saying hit a chord. Someone who wanted to protect others at the cost to himself? One who believed that they could only ensure the smiles of those they truly treasured by keeping themselves out of said lives? Because of those actions he could only call selfish and idiotic, the kind and nurturing raven nun had grown up without a proper family that all children deserved.

Angela seemed to already see where Touma's thoughts were turning to. She smiled softly, her tears pausing as she spoke to the very man who was responsible for the very life that had been absent of a proper father like so many of her siblings.

"Tell me, if you had ever met my father, if some event had forced the two of you to clash fists to fists, knowing that he refused to return to the ever large family that can only plead for him to stay; what would you say to that stubborn man?"

What would he say? To that bastard that was responsible for Angela's tears? Who thought he was better off being as far apart from his own loving family because of something as stupid as bad luck? Who put his life on the line without ever thinking about the people he would abandon if her were to die because of his heroics, and something as idiotic as responsibility?

That bloody, broken, smashed right hand; the Illusion Killer that had cut the life of a brilliant star short; a hand that could only break illusions through an action as barbaric as punching; curled tightly.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!

Touma knew what she was doing! But. . .but it wasn't the same! That heroic father wasn't cursed with a literal bad luck charm that would always, undoubtedly, ruin whatever peaceful atmosphere he could grasp. Everyday would be another series of unfortunate events, Touma knew that since he awoke with no recollection of anything. Unlike Angela's father, it really would be better if Touma left for their safety.

Right?

Wasn't that the right thing to do? Wouldn't that, in the long run, make them happy?

Hot tears formed in Touma's troubled eyes as he fought with was right for them, and what was right for him. He couldn't answer Angela honestly, not without betraying that borrowed heart that wished to stay, and the selfish desires of a husk who couldn't decide if he had any right to argue with that heart that was not his own.

"I-I-I. . ."

His shaken resolved matched his voice, so weak and low it like a whisper in the wind.

"Touma."

That already shaken resolve began to break once he heard her voice. The voice who had given this useless, pathetic, lonely husk, purpose to live.

Finally stepping into the dark hospital room, Index walked up to the bed of her caretaker and best friend. She couldn't stand back any longer, not after everything she had heard from the broken boy's weak voice. From the way he was speaking, it almost sounded as if he didn't think he had any right to stay by their side anymore.

Something had happened when they had been knocked out from The Level Eater's surprise attack. Touma had run off to face the girl known as Mila by himself. A fight had broken out that no one would ever know the details of. And the end result had brought that courageous normal boy's heart to shatter.

Touma blamed himself for a great sorrow and loss. One Index wasn't sure he would ever speak of to her or anyone else. And that was fine, he was still hurting. One day, one day for sure, she hoped that he would have the strength to speak of it with her. About the death of a girl Index had only seen as a demon born of loneliness.

For now though, she couldn't stand to allow that boy to beat himself up. She wouldn't allow that simple boy to disappear from her world. Not again, she had already been put through that scare after he had saved her that cool July night.

Once upon a time, a spiky haired high school boy had reached out his hand to a pious nun in a white habit in a world devoid of god. Two worlds had been intertwined that day. A bond that she cherished above all others had been born to save her from a cruel fate.

And that incredibly beautiful, warm, loved bond was breaking.

Just as that so called normal, average, Level 0 high school boy had done that summer morning, that pious Sister of the holy church would reach her hand out to prevent that most beloved bond from disappearing.

Green eyes lingered to Touma's lap, noticing the splotches of red staining the sheets from his hand. Her hand moved and brought the bandaged arm out, causing an uneasy expression to paint the spiky haired boy's face as Index gingerly grasped the infamous hand that negated magic.

By holding that cursed hand, didn't that mean the divine protection from God was denied? Didn't that mean she was relenting to the ill fortune that plagued his life?

"I-Index, please-"

"Don't go."

Her hand held onto that bane of the supernatural desperately, afraid that if she slacked so much as a little, it would leave her grasp. Her voice was soft as a feather, and innocent of any form of cruelty.

What Touma saw next caused that already shattered heart of his to break further.

That smile, the same smile that had greeted him upon his birth as Kamijou Touma, pictured with watery emerald eyes, a pure smile full of heartbreak and loss, came back. It was a sight he never wished to see again and fought regularly to prevent.

And he had caused it to come back.

"Please, I don't know what's hurting you, I don't know how to heal the hurt on your heart, but please, don't go. Stop blaming yourself for whatever tragedy you've faced. Stop thinking that you should have never bothered to save others with that right hand of yours. Because this Index-san can't stand to see you so miserable. I just want to go back home, to our dorm, and continue living right beside you, Angela, and Sphinx as we've always done."

A wish. A simple, honest, pure wish that just about anyone on the street could grant.

What right did Touma have to deny the wish of a crying girl? To refuse that desire, wouldn't he be like the countless adults who had crushed the heart of one lonely star he had fought so hard to save?

Call him a bastard, a killer, a failure, a no good replacement of someone far superior, but he'd be damned if he sunk any further than to break that girl's heart again! Ever so slowly, that great sorrow that devoured him began to melt away.

A heavy burdened sigh fell out of Touma's lips as his shoulder's slacked.

That pain that relentlessly stabbed at his core was still there. He wasn't sure it would ever go away. If it did leave, his heart would be scarred deeply by his failure to save one girl. That kind of pain would forever follow him to the end of his miserable days. And no one could ever convince him to forgive himself for what he did.

But he would just have to learn to live with it. Live with the fact that he couldn't save a single girl. That even his well meaning intentions could cause someone to suffer. This lesson was one he would learn to make him do things better. In the end he. . .

"I-. . .I'm not going anywhere, Index, Angela. I promise."

Wouldn't run away from this world he loved.

As cursed, ill ridden, and miserable that right hand was, Touma clenched his bloody fingers in response to that little nun's plea. His smile wasn't so bright, it had grown dim, but it was still the same smile belonging to Kamijou Touma none the less.

And that was all that those two nuns needed.

With bright smiles of their own, Index and Angela jumped the bed ridden spiky haired boy with shouts of cheer. And per his misfortune, hugged that beloved high school boy with all their might. They could feel it, Touma's pain was still present. It wouldn't give away so easily. But for now, at this moment, it was good enough. Spiky black hair tickled their noses as they brought his head to their chests, giggling happily to Touma's sounds of displeasure.

"GYAAAAAHHHH! BE GENTLE, BE GENTLE! THIS KAMIJOU-SAN IS STILL HEAVILY WOUNDED! AFFECTION LIKE THIS COULD SPELL DEAAAAATTTHHH!"

For all his groans and shouts of agony as his body prickled from the strain, he couldn't deny the guilty pleasure of having two holy sister's embrace his head between heavenly flesh pillows. But of course he couldn't enjoy it due to the sharp crack originating from somewhere on his person.

The door to the once dim hospital room creaked, or at least it would have if a certain nun Saint hadn't taken it down with one punch, signaling the arrival of a certain frog faced doctor. His dark eyes simply gave the heavily dented door frame on the floor a quirk of the brow. Alright, so there was a knuckle indent on the center from someone with monstrous strength. And there was no one else but the two nuns here who could have caused such an unbelievable blow. So, one of the two sweet nuns was responsible for the property damage.

Just another bill under the usual Kamijou account.

Heaven Canceler sighed before a small smile came to his face at the loud antics now taking over the gloomy room belonging to his most frequent of patients. He didn't feel like interrupting the two nuns who showered the human black cat that was Kamijou Touma.

This wouldn't be the first time Heaven Canceler would be seeing this scene play out before him. It wouldn't be the last time he treated that spiky haired boy in either the ER or OR. The chances of not seeing that boy in his care for a month was a bet that even the luckiest or most fortune blessed individual would undoubtedly lose. It was the unfortunate fate for that boy who was born with a hand that rejected even god's ever loving blessings.

And yet, the frog faced doctor knew that despite everything that boy would endure through the Magic and Science halves of the world, he knew that Kamijou Touma would get back on his feet after ever tragedy he walked away from.

* * *

 _ **The Power to Destroy the False Illusions of The World.**_

 _ **In time, you will be known by many names. None you have ever wished to be addressed by. For you are just your average high school boy. It is not your responsibility to seek the darkness of the world and shatter the illusions born of misery.**_

 _ **For now, until the day you come face to face with the reality of your own cursed fate; enjoy these peaceful days full of strife and violence. For you have yet to taste true despair.**_

 _ **You have yet to kill the most happiest, cherished, illusion of them all.**_

 **And so, there we have it! The first real arc of the story has come to a close. The war between those who were born without Power has come to end, even if that end is bittersweet. Man, was that an ending that slapped at my heart.**

 **All in all, it was a fun arc to write. I'm happy to have started off with making up my own story before we actually get to canon. I really felt that it would have been better to stave off of the main events which have a lot more impact. Not that this arc won't be. Trust me, you'll see a lot of what's happened during this day come up in surprising ways in the future.**

 **Now that we're done with this part of the story, which to my surprise has reached over 200K+ words; holy shit; it's time for me to go on break. Not a long one, mind you! I'll explain. I have been ignoring my other works for far too long, and I really must go back to uploading on my RWBY sect of things again. Plus, I need to complete more chapters for this story before I begin uploading the next arc, which is the Sisters Arc; a very important one at that. I'm going to need time to get the ball rolling, patching up things, making sure everything is as I want it, and all that jazz. So, I'll be leaving this story alone for two months.**

 **But I will be uploading something special that isn't part of an arc.**

 **It's known as SS: Just Your Average Hospital Visits! Consider it a part of the main story, a bit of an omake. I should release it in a month with news of how things are going, and to let you all know when I'll be uploading again.**

 **So, I only ask that you guys and gals be patient. And if you're a fan of my RWBY stories, I'm sure you'll be happy.**

 **Right now though, let's get the Author's Writing Corner!**

 **Did you know; Chapter's 1 &2 are considered the Prologue for A Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps? **The Zeroes War/Level Eater Arc didn't start officially until Chapter 3; with that chapter acting as the prologue. Your dear Author-san hadn't bothered to mention this due to lack of sleep, and wanting to upload without thinking.

 **Did You Know; A Certain Blue Haired Boy with Piercings was suppose to be involved with this Arc?** Aogami was originally planned to be part of the action, having stumbled onto Touma in his fights before joining him to fight off various Skill-Out thugs. Author-san had to scrap the idea due to clashing plots and believing that Aogami would be better off introduced to the story at another time. Which sucks because Author-san loved the idea of those two fighting side by side.

 **Did You Know; That each new OC introduced in the arc have special names that helped to symbolize them in this arc?** Believe it or not, but they aren't random names Author-san came up with out of random.

Cobra symbolized what his name suggests; a deadly hooded snake with toxic fangs that strikes quickly. One who threatens with words and his delinquent appearance as a hood.

Orochi Tatsumi means 'Eight Headed Snake of the Southeast'; at least to my crappy knowledge of making up names. When you think about it, he has several different faces. The Father, The Scientist, The Level 0, The Sinner, The Savior, etc. Plus he originates from the southeast of Japan's cities.

Warui; the leader of Vile Dogs, is basically a Bad guy. Original, I know.

Dangan Chishi means Lethal Bullet. A boy who resolves matters with deadly shells. I admit, he was a last minute addition, with me having to completely scrap the first half to have him fit in.

Mila Etoile translates to Purple Star in French. Despite her platinum blond hair, Author-san felt like giving her a name that fit her. She was daughter to a noble like family with ambitions to become something great. Purple represents Royalty, Wealth, and Ambition. And when it turns dark, it represents Gloom, Sadness, and Frustration. She was also a Star that only wanted to shine brightly, but ended up collapsing.

 **Did You Know; That Level Eater wasn't always designed as the Final Boss?** Originally, the hidden objective that Mila was searching for had different forms in mind. At first it was a Five_Over with the abilities of Meltdowner; than it was an Anti-Art-Attachment that was heavily influenced by fire arms; And than it was designed as an AIM Burst that rampaged in the streets. The Level Eater itself was a by product of granting Mila the power to cross over from a human to a being that is alike to a certain spectacle Angel. Actually, the very original idea once Level Eater was born, was to have Touma dragged along to the machine as Mila attacked the city, and relied on the aid of several Espers to take her down.

 **Did You Know; Touma was originally going to be the one to save Index, Angela, and Toka from Hana?** The idea had been for Touma to come running in as he was searching for the girls, come upon Hana in his attempts to kill the girls, and do the old Kamijou Touma Face Punch! But it seemed far too easy, and Author-san really didn't want him to met the girls that soon. Not to mention it would have involved getting rid of introducing Fremea to the scene too.

 **Did You Know; Toka was planned to fight Hana, and fight other opponents, with a certain Original Grimoire that contained everybody's favorite living female Tarot?** Mina Mathers was going to be introduced really, really, early to the story as an aid to even the playing field for our female Level 0. She was going to work as a living computer that would suggest ways to evade, analyze spells and abilities, and offer buffs. The idea was scrapped though. Author-san believed it would be better for Toka to fight without any kind of tricks and for her to take after her mother. Which was sad, because Author-san really wanted Mina to flirt with Touma.

 **Did You Know; The first person to read Chapter 1 of a Certain Influx of Time Traveling Mishaps was ArmoredCoreNineBall?** After talking to him over PMs, Author-san thought to get an opinion on the story he was messing around with. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have thought to actually write for ToAru at all! Thanks to his words of encouragement, I was confident enough to release this story for the public eyes.

 **Did You Know; Mugino was originally planned to be introduced in this arc?** From the first idea of the Final Boss, Author-san had created a machine designed after a Five_Over; Named Five_Snatcher; which would capture a Level 5 to power its destructive abilities and utilize them in new ways without the setback of being a human with limits. Mugino was going to be the battery for Mila to abuse in her quest for revenge, until to be stopped by Touma. This would have made it possible for them to meet each other sooner than planned, and create a connection.

 **And that's all the time we have today! If you enjoyed this little corner of interesting facts, than you'll be hapy to know that at the end of every arc, we'll have one of these to spill out some more facts of what went on during the creation of the story.**

 **This really was a fun arc to write and begin with. I don't think I abuse a character like Touma this much before. Maybe. I did have both my characters lose their arms, and get them back. I really should get back to RWBY, the fans are probably ready to torch my sorry ass by now.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this arc too. Tell me; how did I do? Other than the mistakes I made here and there. Jesus, I can't believe I had Hana's name backwards several times. What did you like? What were the most memorable moments that you read? What was your favorite fight and quote? And what do you think is next in the future of our dear Kamijou?**

 **Read and Review! It's common courtesy.**

 **NeoShadows, fading in and out.**

 **. . . .After this.**

* * *

?

Normalcy returned to that world of Science that rejected the faith and belief of the other half of the world. Academy City truly was a wonder to behold, be it Past or Future. And Arden could appreciate the little changes to the city that would one day open its doors to the world instead of barring itself from their prying eyes. Though the worlds of Magic and Faith would still be divided, it wasn't as bad as now. All in thanks to a certain Number 1 Esper that would take the throne.

The skies above that city of fact and discovery were clear with only a few stray clouds as Arden sat on the very edge of the border of Academy City. Doing such would be cause for concern since the Head Chairman would activate any security measures to rid the nuisance. Arden hadn't bothered to deal with whatever would attack him, be it some kind of machine or spell. Not when he had a certain someone to watch his back.

"I suppose you're business in Academy City is complete, Arden."

Something burst from behind Arden's back, like an uprooting vine that broke through pure concrete. For a girl with no real emotions to show for, she could be rather flashy with her entrance. Now was that from their beloved father or her mother. . .or father. Boy, wasn't that confusing to think about!

Arden grunted lowly as he stood back on his feet to address the spectacle white haired secretary that greeted him. The well dressed blond magician scratched his chin. What was her name again? It was something ridiculously long and full with both religious and scientific references.

"Yes it is, uhhhhhh. . ." For a boy who could manipulate a whole district into a war and create a beast like The Level Eater, he didn't sound so intelligent.

The silver haired daughter of the Silver Star rolled her eyes at the young boy. Despite being a rather large threat to the whole of both halves of the world, he was still Kamijou Touma's son. In short, he was an idiot.

"Maria, Arden; My name is Maria. Don't forget it again, or I will be forced to punish you like the insolent brat you are." she spoke coldly.

Arden nodded absently, not paying the threat from the girl much attention.

"Yes, yes, you devilish spawn of a Demon Woman and Illusion Killer." Arden responded dully as a frosty glare now fell on him, "I had never planned on staying in this city anyways. It just so happened that the spell that brought the Kamijou litter to the past had dumped me here of all places. And while I was here, I thought why not begin preparations for my own plan on dealing with that so called Magic God of Ruin, and help to develop our father's Experience. After all, not all of us who journeyed here came with the same intentions of resolving our future." he shrugged as he rested his hands in his pockets. His gaze drifted past the marvel that was Academy City, focused intently on a world and its people in search of something that brought a wistful smile to his youthful face.

"Those woeful ignorant brothers and sisters rely far too much on the past to be of any help. And all but a few understand what is needed to secure their future for themselves. This current generation has failed to protect the world, and will most likely repeat their failures. They do not know what power is needed to save their presents, nor their past or future. And those who've never saved the world, can never hope to protect it with childish dreams and stubborn wills alone."

Out in that ever wide world full of countless interesting individuals, stood Arden's master. The man who had taught that young innocent faced boy what was needed to save the world they cherished. As did Arden's mother who was no doubt up to no good in her own well meaning intentions, and his loving aunt who had raised him in the place of both his parents.

That world and its beloved people were gone in the flashfires of hell spurned by a being that stood on a plane above humanity. As the world crumbled, Arden had experienced what would be needed to save all that he loved. At what ever means it would take.

"My experiment with The Level Eater failed. I was hoping to create a new card to add to my deck to counter those beings known as Magic Gods, using the culmination of the fears and wishes of Espers to bear a crystallized ability with a Joker nature. Though I am of the Magic side, I wished to attain an ability from the Science side in the likes of Imagine Breaker and World Rejector. Sadly, those plans had crumbled before my eyes. As expected when Kamijou Touma finds himself stumbling to the scene. And a certain back stabbing blond mentalist." Arden said with a bitter yet happy smile.

He should have known his his father's luck had rubbed off on him; Also that his father's kind nature would rub off on a certain blond mentalist. Arden's plan had failed to provide any results, other than aiding in developing his father's skill. Though he had witnessed the creation of his own Angel. So, that was something. Poor sweet, trusting, lonely Mila. Arden felt a bitter tug at his heart in memory of that girl who had been shattered to pieces. If he was correct, than Hachiman had meddled in his plans at the last minute, and used his Mental Over ability to suppress the french girl's born fear of Imagine Breaker once she had returned to the world from her Phase. If her primal fear of the right hand was still active, than she would have never dared to touch it.

Sighing at his failure, Arden was not deterred in the slightest for his future plans. There was still much to do to secure that bright future. His hand was still full with possible moves and his deck was still brimming with tricks. He had his fun with Academy City for the moment, got to met with some of his siblings and made connections for his future ventures, and even got to speak with his beloved father for the first time in years. His time in this cold world of technology was well spent.

"I do thank you for protecting me from Crowley's threats in the mean time, Onee-chan. I'll be sure to repay the favor in time. But I'm afraid our sibling bonding has to come to an end. My next plan requires me to venture out into the world in preparation for what is to come. I'm sure that you will not get in the way of those plans even if they do clash with your own." he said with a knowing smirk on his lips.

Maria sighed with an adjustment of her lenses. She didn't like his way of doing things. He was a child who come to ruin this present with his own selfish wants in mind. If any of her siblings knew what Arden was up to, they would no doubt fight to stop him. But Maria herself wasn't one for conflict. It just wasn't in her nature.

"Do what thy will, will be the will of the world."

It was a practiced saying, one that had been passed down by her mother, and lived by her father. Meaning that she wouldn't go as far as to stop her little brother's questionable plans.

That cool faced silver girl's lips twitched. A devious smile split her face apart.

Which meant that what she was doing next was the will of the world and could not be denied. After all, it wasn't in her nature.

Arden made a noise of surprise as the border wall he stood atop of rumbled. He felt something inside the obsidian material move before bursting out of the walls with a roar.

The blond haired boy sighed as he casually moved his body to the left. Something stabbed the space he had stood with a javelin made out of some wriggling material. It resembled a mass of hair. As did the being that attacked him.

Circling above the golden haired magician were three angelic beings made out of raven locks that had sprung out of the border wall. Each angel held in their hands cruel spears along with wings that resembled more of a raven's than an angel. They were known as Aethyr Avatars, heavenly creations that had once been used by a Great Demon of the Abyss. Each one was made out of a devil's hair that's tangles originated from the mass of hair that had grown from Maria's hair to stab through the surface of the wall she stood on. Which brought up the change to the girl's body.

Gone was the neutral expressionless face she wore. As her silver hair had been dyed a pitch black like oil, her face lost its creamy pigment and grown tan, her green eyes became an deep blue, and a bewitching smile grew on her face. Her teenage body that was close to resembling your average adult secretary had hit a growth spurt, enlarging her perky chest into a buxom chest, widening her hips, and perfecting her thighs as she became the picture of seductiveness.

The child of the Silver Star had stepped out of the scene. In her place, the daughter of the Great Demon had taken over for the time.

"Ara, ara, ara~! Leaving so soon, Arden-otouto-chan? Mmm, how sad." the raven haired girl pouted while crossing her now busty chest with a tease.

Despite her alluring nature, those Aethyr Avatar's only aimed their spears intently onto the blond boy's position with red sparks forming along the tip. Her oil pitch black hair that seemed to continually stream her locks into the border wall wavered, revealing something odd in her sea of darkness.

A crimson expression grinned cruelly from her screen of darkness. An old saying came back to Arden as he gazed at the girl's hair.

It was said that the devil resided in a woman's hair. And it looked to be a vengeful one at that.

That pout grew into a sickly sweet smile that sent warning bells of in Arden's hair.

"I haven't yet repaid your for bringing harm to my dear, sweet, beloved Tou-kun!"

Those demonic spears made of a devil's hair sparked, flashing as they unleashed blinding flames as pure as the great ball of flames at the center of their solar system.

" _ **The Sixth Call: thy name is RZIONR, fire of fire! Obey the words that rule the tablet of the same color and reveal thy pure power before me!**_ "

A pure fire, untainted by any other of the worlds elements was fired from the tips of those false angel's born of a demonic woman's locks of hair. They devoured that blond boy in a bonfire of twisting flames that raged like a demonic beast, tearing apart the top of the border wall and reducing all that it touched to nothing, not even ash.

In the glow of pure flames, the demonic possessed Maria pouted childishly.

Those great blossoming flames grew still. As powerful as they were, the flames found themselves rejected from its target and banished into harmless small embers that resembled lightning bugs.

Arden stood rooted to the spot, never having moved as he was devoured by the demon's Enochiana Magic that left him in a scoured crater. The youthful faced blond smiled pleasantly at the possessed Maria with only a few singes on his body. All in thanks to his own magic.

From the blond boy's left shoulder, an ethereal hand born of golden light stretched out to repeal the Sixth Call. The golden hand could only be described as beautiful, without imperfection, with decorated jeweled rings on each finger. It was an ethereal hand devoid of any taint, a signal of purity, of light, that all men fell for due to its beauty.

It was a hand of Rebellion. That which made a liar and murderer of even god loving men. A pure and perfect calling that instilled impurity and violence.

That youthful blond boy without any imperfection on his face, who appeared innocent and kind, and wielded a gentle aura, commanded that left ethereal hand to back off as its palm began to gather an intense light to counter the demonic girl.

"So, the demon show's its self at last? I was wondering when the succubus would show its teasing fangs and snap. The moment our dear father was harmed in my schemes, I knew the taboo imp would eventually come to take my head." Arden smiled innocently while moving his beautiful golden left arm of light to back the avatars off.

The busty raven haired demon possessed woman tapped her lips with a devious twinkle in her deadly blue eyes. For the moment, her false angels backed off. As much as she wanted to rage a bloody rampage against that flesh wad of a human, she knew better to do so in broad daylight. It was only thanks to several wards that no one in the city had noticed the little squabble.

"Oh, dear Otouto-chan! It's not nice to bat away your Onee-chan's advances! Don't be like Tou-kun. Pushing back only makes me want you more!" she giggled.

She wanted him alright. Wanted to rip him to bloody bits and dance around the smoldering bits. Anyone who dared to so much as scratch her beloved was deserving of an ugly fate.

Things would only escalate further if Arden stuck around any longer. He knew when it was the right time to back off. His time in Academy City was over.

For now.

The beautiful golden light hand stretching from Arden's left shoulder moved to hover over his body, shadowing him from the world as he waved his hand at the raven haired girl possessed by a being of sin.

"I suppose I've overstayed my welcome! I'll be one my way, and leave you and the rest of our siblings in Academy City to their own devices in the meantime. Just try not to be a bother to our father, will you? Or seduce him, drag him into a dark alley, drug him with aphrodisiacs, or anything incestuous." he commented blandly with a flat stare at the deadly giggling woman.

"No promises~! After all, this isn't my body or blood~!"

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Arden knew there was niche for that kind of kink, but knowing that some demon was basically borrowing one of his older sister's body to do the nasty deed with their own father, truly went to show how unlucky Kamijou Touma had it.

A basking light rained over Arden's body from the palm of his ethereal hand as he could only pinch his brow at the antics of the seductive demon. He had half a mind to just stay and prevent the possessor from causing any more problems to their father. But it was time to leave and prepare.

After all, World War III would be on the horizon.

With nothing left to say, Arden vanished from the world of science known as Academy City. With a promise to himself to come back at some point before the world escalated to war.

In truth, he had lied. That was his nature.

The Event scripted by his own hands had yielded some seeds. Of which had been planted and would need time to grow before he would pluck them for himself. Dear Mila's death hadn't been for nothing after all. In time, he would make sure her tribute would be well used for the betterment of the future of the world.

Everything he did, good or evil, was for that precious world he adored. And like his father, he would resort to violence to achieve his goals.

* * *

It was a world devoid of color other than black and white. The empty streets of the fake Academy City lingered with odd blood red embers that carried strange object within as if they were jewels. In that world devoid of any life, it had continued to breath without its creator to sustain it.

In that clash between Level 0s, a new Phase of reality had been born onto the many layers that separated the Pure World from this world. Its purpose was unknown. It was simply a City of Wisps.

But in the devoid phase floated a single object. That trapezoid made of a mesh of hues was badly damaged, cracked and broken as it remained in that black and white city with no purpose.

Slowly, at a snail's pace, the cracks, broken bits, began to heal itself.


End file.
